WASHINGTON—Poyen High School student Belle Groomes spent the spring semester of her junior year not in the familiar halls of the Grant County campus like her classmates but instead navigating our nation’s capital and the corridors of Congress as a U.S. Senate Page. The Leola, Arkansas, native served alongside 30 other high schoolers from across the country. 

Groomes attended academic class sessions daily beginning at 6:00 a.m. before reporting to work one hour before the Senate convened on weekdays. As a Page, she helped prepare the U.S. Senate chamber for daily business by distributing documents to senators’ desks, assisting in the cloakrooms, supporting chamber staff, and – when the body was in session – sitting near the dais waiting to aid members delivering remarks or casting votes.

“The Senate Page program provided me with lifelong skills that I will forever value. I hold so much honor and privilege for being given the opportunity to serve on the United States Senate floor this semester. Getting to interact with senators daily and go on once-in-a-lifetime adventures around our nation’s capital has been one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. I have been given a lifetime worth of experiences, memories and friendships from the Senate Page Program. I am forever grateful for the opportunity I had to serve our nation and work alongside so many phenomenal people as a United States Senate Page,” Groomes said. 

Groomes earned her appointment to the position from Boozman, who has long promoted the program for Arkansas youth interested in civics and public service. She was awarded the Principal’s Award in addition to being elected Co-Chair of the Senate Page School Kindnesses and Mental Health Committee along with the Newsletter Committee.

“Belle did an excellent job supporting the day-to-day activity of the Senate while observing legislative processes and procedures firsthand. I am confident that serving as a Page will inspire her to continue exploring her interests in civics and public service. Our entire state can be proud of how she represented us in this prestigious program,” Boozman said.

Groomes is a past state secretary of the Arkansas Jr. Beta Club as well as a member of Poyen High School’s golf team and cheerleading squad in addition to managing the softball team. She also serves as junior class president and co-founded a platform to provide outreach to her local community that included a partnership with Miss Arkansas 2024 to promote volunteerism among fellow students. 

She is the daughter of Barry and Lindsey Groomes.

The Senate Page program started in 1829 when Senator Daniel Webster appointed the first Senate Page. Today, the program is a unique, highly selective opportunity for high school juniors with a strong academic standing to learn firsthand about the institution often referred to as “the world’s greatest deliberative body.”