Tamsin Wilson’s father Jon, picked her up after school, handed her a letter from the Vermont Legislature, and reminded her to, “Call your sister.” The 8th grade Manchester Elementary Middle School (MEMS) student dialed up her big sister Harper, a senior at Burr & Burton, opened the envelope, looked inside, and exclaimed, “Oh my God! I got accepted!”
The letter announced that Tamsin will be one of 21 Pages, all in the eighth grade, serving the Vermont Legislature in the 2026 Legislative Session. The group, which serves from January to May, is divided into three sections of seven, with each segment serving for two months. Tamsin will be headed to Montpelier for April and May.
During her time in the legislature, Tamsin will be on a strict schedule. On Monday she will attend her regular classes in-person at MEMS. Then she’s off to Montpelier with her grandmother, Jackie Wilson (former Superintendent of the BRSU), who serves as Tamsin’s adult chaperone from Monday afternoon through the end of the day on Friday when they return to Manchester.
“All of us in the BRSU are incredibly proud of Tamsin,” said Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU) Superintendent Randi Lowe. “I am personally excited for her to have this unique and life-changing opportunity.”
Serving as a Page involves two separate tasks. On the one hand, the pages deliver messages and run errands for the members of the State House and Senate. It keeps them on their feet from 8:00 in the morning until the final gavel at the end of the day. The second assignment is to quietly view the committee and floor proceedings to obtain an up close and personal look at how the state government functions.
“Tamsin is uniquely qualified to be a Page,” said Dianna Ivey, MEMS Social Studies teacher, who encouraged Tamsin to apply. “She’s a hard worker and a great listener, who watches and observes. She takes in everything and if she sees a problem or something wrong, she comes to me with a solution. She wants to be a page to learn. She’s not padding her resume for a college application.”
Applying to the page position was an anxious time for Tamsin: “I knew that I was competing with over 150 other eighth graders from across the state. As the September 30th deadline approached I must have rewritten my letter of application a million times."
Wilson brings plenty of interests and perspective to the program. At school she loves English, Social Studies, and Math. This month she will be part of the MEMS Robotics Team that is competing for the State Championship.
Her other love is athletics. Tamsin competes in three-sports: soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse. The one common thread is that on each team she plays defense, a position that requires a sense of calmness in chaos and the mental toughness to handle pressure and miscues.
“Defense is all about protecting the team and I like that,” said Tamsin. “It’s all about communication and taking action. Playing defense gives me self-confidence. I hope serving as a page allows me to become more independent and get ready for high school.”
In entering the Vermont Legislative Page Program, Tamsin is extending a family tradition of public service. “In addition to my grandmother, my grandfather (Jeff Wilson) was a State Representative for Manchester, and my father (Jon Wilson) was a legislative aide,” said Tamsin. “But maybe my biggest inspiration comes from my sister Harper. During her days at MEMS she led a Manchester program to create and promote a Plastic Bag Bin and help preserve the environment. Now that really impressed me.”
It’s fair to say that Harper is equally impressed by Tamsin heading to Montpelier.
(Photo above: MEMS Social Studies teacher Dianna Ivey congratulates 8th grader Tamsin Wilson on her acceptance into the Vermont Legislature’s Page Program.)