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San Jose Students Get Rare Opportunity As Congressional Pages

SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Three high school juniors from East San Jose were selected to be a part of an elite group of teens from across the nation, joining the Congressional Page Program.

100 students nationwide were to begin their semester as Pages Monday.

KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:

"The real important thing for them is the exposure to the United States government. They will live in the Page dorms, go to the Page school, there are special seminars and programs," explained Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who sponsored the applications for all three San Jose Pages, Daisy Torres, Maria Garcia and Dina Asfaha.

"This is a great country we have. All three of these girls have parents who are immigrants, who came to the United States for a better life for them and their families and here just the first generation they've got girls who are making them very proud," Lofgren declared.

"People who think that there aren't great things going on in schools in East San Jose can just look at Maria, Daisy and Dina and see that here are three girls achieving great things academically in their lives."

Lofgren described being a Page as a potentially life-changing experience.

"I hope that one day, one of these wonderful three young women will be sitting in my seat on the floor of the House casting a vote, not just watching others cast votes."

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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