What is a constituent? Where is the capital of Wisconsin? I bet if you ask a third or fourth grade student they would be able to answer these questions. How would these young students know the answer to this? Well, on Monday, April 30, 2018, the 3rd & 4th grade class participated in a discussion with Senator Bewley. Bewley told the students many stories of how she came to be a senator in addition to sharing her responsibilities and what a typical day looks like for her. Being a senator isn’t easy. In fact, there’s actually a lot of travel associated with representing people. We live in Senate District 25, which consists of many rural areas and, wait for it… is the number one district in Wisconsin in terms of land and counties covered! That translates to a LOT of driving. Sylas Jardine was super surprised to hear that Senator Bewley puts on an average of 1,000 miles per week! You may be curious to know what she does with all that road time? “She listens to audio books!” said Sylas.
Students find different stories fascinating. Bewley grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She went from her college in Maine, to Wisconsin and has been here ever since. Senator Bewley expressed a lot of gratitude to be able to represent northern Wisconsin.

Being able to talk with Senator Bewley really helped the students make connections with what Bewley talked about, and what they have read in their social studies textbooks. Third grader Maddie Purzner asked, “Could you have imagined as a child that you would become a State Senator?” Senator Bewley really appreciated the question and responded with a “No,” but then followed up by explaining the reasons she became involved in local and state government. Dreaming big and being open to possibilities is important and Senator Bewley encouraged students to become active members in their communities and encouraged the students to consider taking on leadership roles in the future. Thank you Senator Bewley, very much, for your time and commitment to education and your service to Wisconsin!