Coeur d'Alene Charter seniors to serve as pages in Idaho House
Another pair of North Idaho students will be front and center in Boise when the 2026 Idaho legislative session begins today.
Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy seniors Isabel Trinidad and Gabrielle Hill serve in the Legislative Page Program in the Idaho House of Representatives. They'll work alongside Idaho's representatives under the supervision of the House sergeant at arms.
Isabel said she is participating because she is currently taking a government class.
"I have always been a hands-on learner," she said Friday. "Learning about things in person helps me gain a better understanding of how they actually work, so going to the capital and seeing first-hand how things run is just what I need."
Isabel said she has always been passionate about politics, especially challenging and controversial topics.
"My goal by the end of the first term is to better understand how our government functions, or how it sometimes doesn’t," she said, "as well as seeing that the people who work there are real people trying to make a difference, while also learning about the challenges of corruption and accountability."
Isabel and Gabrielle will spend about six weeks during the first half of the session delivering messages, running errands, making copies, assisting legislators and aiding committee secretaries as they set up and take down meetings. A second wave of different House pages will take over in the second half of the session.
Gabrielle said she grew up in a politically active family, so she wasn't interested when she heard about the page opportunity years ago.
"But as I’ve gone through high school, I became way more curious about government and politics," she said. "I’ve learned that politics really shows how different people view the world, and I now enjoy listening to debates and thinking about those sorts of issues, especially knowing that I’m almost out in the real world, where many decisions made in the Capitol will directly affect me."
Gabrielle serves as a dual-credit senator for the Associated Students of North Idaho College. The student government experience has been illuminating.
"I understand better what it’s like to navigate policies and budgets, serve on committees and represent voters, and that is just on my college campus," she said.
Gabrielle is excited to see those things play out on a larger scale in the House of Representatives.
She said she hopes information from her government class, paired with her experiences in student government and as a House page, will deepen her understanding of how the U.S. government operates and help shape her view of politics as a citizen and new voter.
Two 2021 Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy graduates will also be serving in the 2026 legislative session. Lauren Young just started working as the Idaho Senate education secretary. Cyrus Vore, the 4-H program coordinator for the Kootenai/Shoshone County Extension Office, will lead floor sessions while the chief clerk is on maternity leave.
"It’s a temporary employee loan, but still an excellent opportunity," Vore said. "I’ll be reading all bills, reports and announcements, keeping the session in order through a combination of House rules and Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure and creating all agendas and schedules for everything happening during the session."
Hill