ERATH MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT GETS FIRST HAND LOOK
AT STATE LEGISLATURE AT WORK

SHADOWS SEN. NICK GAUTREAUX ON THE JOB
AT THE STATE CAPITOL
 

  For Erath Middle School student Ryan Poche, the day started right after breakfast and didn't end until after dinner time as he followed District 26 State Senator Nick Gautreaux (D-Meaux) at work at the 2008 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Ryan helped Sen. Gautreaux gain House committee approval of a bill to help citizens settle claims against the state; joined the Senator during an interview on Lafayette's KPEL radio; listened to presentations on the state budget in the Senate Finance Committee; and even addressed the members of the Senate in the Senate Chamber. It was all part of Ryan's job-shadowing assignment required of 8th grade students at Erath Middle School.

  "We had to choose a profession in which we have an interest and shadow a person in that profession for a day," Ryan, who is President of the Junior Beta Club in Louisiana, said. "I chose being a state senator. One of our most important freedoms in America is being able to express our opinions and discuss things to make a difference. Where better to do that than in the state legislature?"

  For Sen. Gautreaux spending the day with the 14 year-old student at the State Capitol was a chance to do something he really enjoys, encouraging young people to take an interest in their government and their state.

  "I really appreciate the opportunity as a state senator to spend time with students in the Acadiana area and introduce them to their state government and the process of representative democracy," Sen. Gautreaux said. "Ryan is an impressive young man and I know he has a bright future ahead of him."
Ryan comes by his interest in government service and politics naturally. His father and uncles are in public service and his grandfather was the sheriff in Vermilion Parish.
Ryan says what surprised him most about his day at the State Legislature is that everything is not as "orderly" as he thought it would be.

  "Sometimes it seems like a lot of people are talking at the same time, but they still get things done," Ryan said.
And what did he tell the members of the Louisiana Senate when he took the microphone in the Senate Chamber? Well, after spending more than the normal eight-hour work day at the capital, he thinks they deserve a raise.

PHOTO ATTACHED: (Pictured left to right) Sen. Gautreaux, Ryan Poche and Senate President Joel Chaisson in the Senate Chamber.