Portfolio

Mr.Cardenas
Washington
GOES
TO
diately. During our first month, Sonceria Ann Berry, the
Secretary of the Senate, presented us each with pins
to wear on our blue uniforms. We each got a photo with
her and listened to her share her words of wisdom.
The long hours weren’t as bad as they were made to
seem. I still remember the reactions people had upon
seeing the more famous members of the Senate, but
we quickly got used to working side by side with them
School was unlike any other education I had ever
experienced - that’s ignoring the fact that class typically
started at 6 A.M. and never ran past 10 A.M. All the
teachers had their own quirks and interests. Our science
teacher, Dr. Johnson, was always there to make sure
we understood the material, and we had lots of laughs
poking fun at our social studies teacher, Mr. Fiorill. The
math teacher, Ms. Glines, had a vocabulary all her own
that the rest of us Pages came to adopt. She laughed if
we were ‘weak sauce’ or making ‘J.V. moves’. And I had
never met anyone like the English teacher, Mrs. Owens,
“Every Page got the chance
to meet their Senator, and my
meeting with Hickenlooper was
nothing short of ethereal. ”
who had been with the Page Program since 2000. She
had the most unapologetic and dry wit. But it was clear
underneath it all, she loved her students.
In between school and work, the residence staff
made sure that we had time to have fun and get to
know each other. During our first weekend, we did a
cool team building activity in Maryland. We enjoyed zip
lining and being dropped from heights merely being
held by a thread. Sometime during the first month, we
were taken to a production of Hamilton at the Kennedy
Center. Despite the fact that I am not a “musicals” person,
I was so enthralled by the show that I found myself
forgetting where I was during the intermission. In
general, D.C. has lots of cool sights, many of which we
were lucky to have toured, like the Library of Congress
and Georgetown University. School field trips were
fun too, like Mount Vernon and Williamsburg, even if
we mostly resented the fact that we were still there to
learn and would get quizzed on them.
Every Page got the chance to meet their Senator,
and my meeting with Hickenlooper was nothing short
of ethereal. I got to talk to him in his private office, and
was glad to see that he remembered things like where
I go to school when we spoke. I saw him a number of
times throughout my service as a Page, and every time
he made sure to say hi to me and ask how I was doing.
Our class of Pages was unique in that the Senate
spent a lot of time in recess, meaning we had no work
to do and had more flexible hours. Recess weeks were
filled to the brim with field trips; places like the National
Air and Space Museum and the Planet Word Museum.
Perhaps my favorite field trip of the entire program
was when we went to Hershey Park in Hershey,
Pennsylvania on a Saturday. It was fun to be able to let
loose with my new friends, snacking and riding roller
coasters with a sense of freedom that I had never felt
before. During recess weeks, I got to work alongside
Hickenlooper’s incredible staff in his office, sorting
constituent mail or organizing team press releases. On
one recess day, myself and two of my friends snuck to
the House side to take pictures in front of Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez’s office.
All the fun we had didn’t mean that we weren’t
committed to our work. I worked past midnight a number
of times. The Capitol at 12 A.M. is truly a sight to
behold. It’s every bit as composed as you would think
it is, and could easily get creepy. Such long hours likely
would have deterred most people from doing it,
but everyone was there for each other. The Senators
were nice on the floor; even a simple thanks from Mitt
Romney or Elizabeth Warren after holding the door
for them was much appreciated. The littlest moments
were always some of the most important to us. I can’t
even describe my excitement when Bernie Sanders
passed by me and said hello. The Secretary even let
us go to her Christmas office party in December!
By the last month of the program, things were
starting to feel final, but that didn’t mean anything was
slowing down. We got to tour the White House and
view all of its decorations in their glory. Perhaps the
single most important day of the program (and what
I would already consider one of the most important
days of my life), was the swearing in of the new senators
for the 118th Congress. On January 3rd, 2023, we
saw the swearing in of the first ever female President
Pro Tempore of the Senate, Patty Murray. And the ac-
This was my second opportunity
to design for Talon magazine.
There was no direction from the
client this time, so I investigated
the movie the article named after,
'Mr. Smith goes to Washington'.
The title page is directly inspired
by one of the more recent
posters, with the same treatment
to the photo as well as replicating
the title on the poster's layout
and font.
InDesign Photoshop Illustrator
Font: Lighthouse
XAVIER ??? AUTHOR
??? CADENAS PHOTOGRAPHY
JOSEPHINE BEE LAYOUT DESIGN
still remember where I was when I heard the
Inews. My dad told me to go upstairs immediately,
which is never good. He told me cryptically that “the
government was calling” about me. I got the rundown
from my parents about what that actually meant. They
were informed that Senator John Hickenlooper’s office
was looking for a Senate Page for the fall 2022 semester,
and my now-former principal had recommended
that I fill this slot.
The first place I turned? Wikipedia. “Page of the
United States Senate” turned up some interesting
results. I found that Pages had their own school and
dorm, but their hours were long and the programs had
received much scrutiny over the years. On top of everything
else, Pages didn’t have access to their phones
during the entirety of their stay in Washington, D.C.
My parents told me I pretty much had to do this
program, and I’m not sure why, but I obliged. I say no
to just about everything, but this time felt different.
Maybe in the back of my mind, I didn’t think it would
amount to anything. All I know is that I agreed.
That was a Sunday. The next few days were pretty
hectic, because the turnaround was dangerously fast.
In between some Britannica research on what the Senate
actually does, I completed an application, got a letter
of recommendation from the Denver Public Schools
superintendent, and did an interview with Hickenlooper’s
chief of staff. By Wednesday, she had called me
back saying that they wanted to offer me their Page
slot. I thanked her and excitedly told my parents.
Not even a month later, I stood in line outside our
dorm, Webster Hall. I was with the other 25 pages, all
from different states and across the political spectrum.
It was just my dad and I, and I felt a strong sense of unease
being around so many people I didn’t know and
in an environment I had never been to.
By the time we were introduced to the Senate
floor and toured the dorm, all the families had left, and
the Pages were shuffled into the dayroom to meet
each other formally. I sat in the back of the room, only
speaking when spoken to and trying to avoid being
front and center. Not only did I not know much about
politics, but it took me a long time to open up in such
an unfamiliar environment.
Thankfully, I was glad to see that it did indeed get
better over time. Even though I didn’t have much in
common with any of my five roommates, we came to
share a brotherly bond. And despite my work shift being
quiet in our first days, we gradually came to show
off our individual personalities, no matter how emotional,
outrageous or overachieving we were.
The coolest moments started pretty much imme-
“I say no to just about everything,
but this time felt different. ”
tual President of the Senate was there - Vice President
Kamala Harris. One of my friends got to serve her water,
and she gave her an enthusiastic thanks. Needless
to say, we all felt so much secondhand pride.
The program was beginning to wind down starting
with final exams week. They weren’t as bad as
everyone thought they would be, and they lifted tons
of stress from our shoulders. We got to just hang out
at work for the final few times, each day more bittersweet
than the last. On the last day of work, Senator
Cory Booker, who was known to be a great friend of
the pages, gave us a tribute and asked that our names
be submitted to the Congressional Record. I tried to
hold back my tears upon hearing his speech, but
seeing my friends cry made me fail. He stayed in the
lobby with us afterwards, happily taking pictures and
signing our yearbooks.
January 27, 2023 was the hardest day. It meant that
we were packed and ready to leave, saying goodbye
to all of our teachers and favorite staffers. We traveled
to the Capitol for the last time as a class for the closing
ceremony. It was a moment of bittersweet peace - everyone
got their awards and speeches were delivered
on behalf of our class. Hickenlooper spoke, and I even
got a shout out during his speech. Once it was over, I
got to introduce my family to the other families as well
as my always-cool supervisor, Toussaint. I gave them a
special tour of the Senate side before we left.
As I wished my fellow Pages farewell, we put my
things in the car and drove off. I stared at our dorm and
then the Capitol until they were out of sight, and let a
few tears roll down my face.
Even if I was sad to leave behind what had become
my life, I would be forever grateful that this program
opened the doors that it did for me. Though it’s
physically over now, I know that I will let the memories
live on in my mind forever. ■
“I would be forever grateful
that this program opened the
doors that it did for me.”
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