State House Visit

Joanne, Victoria, Cala, Laura, Angela and I had the pleasure of visiting the State House on Monday. We were invited by the very friendly Representative Theodore C. Speliotis and we got to spend some time with him in his office and we talked about the Scholars Program and what his job as a State Rep entailed. We learned that he is the Chair of the committee in charge of licensing in the state of Massachusetts (all issues concerning consumer credit, consumer protection, the issuance of licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages, the registration of various trades or professions.) We also learned about the complicated process of how bills were discussed by the representatives and passed. We even talked about how some of them make the public angry. Mr. Speliotis talked about how people can have a strong opinion about something but when they vote in the house they need to review all perspectives and angles and that what they vote for might not be what their personal opinion is but what is right, based on all the facts presented.Mr. Speliotis was so kind, and he prepared us lunch and we got to eat with him and his secretaries and assistants.

After lunch we took a picture in front of the grand staircase with the Representative. It was so much fun! Then we took a tour with a delightful old woman named Mary who although she was old, she was very up to date with her history and very amusing with her story telling about the state house. While we were there we had the privilege of meeting former Governor Michael Dukakis who served from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was also the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. After our intellectual adventure to the state house Joanne kindly drove us to Sonic where we got slushies (although she didn't get one because she does not like them). We got back to NSCC and parted ways.

I really enjoyed our trip to the State House and got to know the other girls a lot better. It was a great learning experience and hope we get to go again!
Thanks again Joanne and Victoria, I had a blast!

(Thank You Victoria for your help with this blog)