One scholar from Savage learned a few valuable life lessons this summer after serving as a U.S. Senate page in Washington D.C.

Alex Kulstad, 17, learned how important listening can be if done in an unbiased way without holding any prejudices. Kulstad also figured out how important it was to stay engaged in the legislature’s debate and discussion so as to actively hear all sides of issues, point by point.

Perhaps this young man figured out the mystery of how politicians can become more effective in representative office.

After returning home from Senate floor debate, this soon-to-be senior has kept busy training and practicing to play offensive tackle for the Prior Lake High School Lakers football team.

But while academia and football will be Kulstad's primary concerns this year, he admits he may be hooked on politics as he envisions his future college plans and career options.

Kulstad's interest in politics began five years ago when he accompanied his dad on a work-related trip to Washington and toured the U.S. Senate chamber. Kulstad knew he wanted to return to D.C. to discover more about U.S. history and the country’s founding fathers who built this democratic system of representative government.

Listening and learning

Showing a photograph taken of him dressed in his navy suit alongside all 50 U.S. Senate pages, Kulstad wore a special Senate pin on his lapel along with a personalized name tag and Senate ID badge. “We ordered the suits and they let us keep them.”

Kulstad was eager to absorb all he could learn as a witness to the political process. He was charged with memorizing each U.S. senator’s name in case he found a need to address a senator personally on the floor.

When asked what he learned, Kulstad smiled with a sparkle in his eyes. He paused by saying he just really wanted to hear all the sides of an issue without making a judgment or rushing in to form an opinion.

Senate pages were assigned the duty of setting up senators’ desks. “We were always in competition to see who could grab the most waters... and part of that was racing to get the podiums set up,” Kulstad said. “Being able to do something was pretty exciting other than always just listening.”

Prior to serving as a U.S. Senate Page, Kulstad always kept abreast of news and political issues debated in Congress.

“I always try to be informed about what is going on... It is pretty cool to hear from the most powerful people in the world,” he said.

Hearing the Democrat-controlled Senate discuss and debate border control, abortion and the Veterans Affairs bill that just passed, Kulstad said he “didn’t really take it from a stance of agreeing or disagreeing, but more from taking their perspectives in and listening to all the other perspectives and seeing how they compared.”

Kulstad enjoyed hearing Sen. Amy Klobuchar give a speech on the floor and was honored to meet with her for coffee and have his photograph taken with her because he admires her work.

While he was in Washington, Sen. Klobuchar flew home to Minnesota to tour flooded areas and discuss emergency relief funds with President Obama who witnessed unprecedented flood water damage.

“The way she spoke to us, I realized how good of a person she was,” Kulstad said.

Honored to meet U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Kulstad described him as “a man of few words. He keeps to himself for the most part, but when he speaks you should really listen to him.”

Prior to serving as a Senate page, Kulstad found C-Span TV a little boring, but now after being a part of the live action, he is intrigued. “It was our favorite channel when he was there,” said his father, Scott Kulstad.

How it happened

When Kulstad turned 16, he applied to become a U.S. Senate page. He wrote an essay and sent it to the office of Klobuchar, who became his appointing senator.

Traveling alone to D.C., Kulstad met up with other pages who served on the U.S. Senate floor June 7-27. “Monday through Friday was solely work based to help out whoever needed help,” he said. He visited family during his free time and visited some capital museums and monuments, in addition to taking in a ball game and seeing a live theater production.

Kulstad also met and spoke with Vice President Joe Bide. “It was intimidating, I guess; it was my first day," explained Kulstad. "It was kind of nerve racking and I said 'Good to meet you, sir... and Biden said 'I understand this is your first day, welcome to the Senate!'"

Culture shock

When he arrived in the Senate, the pages needed to relinquish cell phones. The aim was to encourage youth to vocalize by talking the old fashioned way: without thumbs.

“It was kind of a culture shock, but it was a good experience,” he said.

Meeting pages from all parts of the country was a fun for this Minnesota boy. He met 50 young people who represented different regions, including a page who was a grandson of former Senator Ted Kennedy.

Kulstad learned the nuances of regional manners and etiquette from fellow pages who were native to the southern and Bible Belt states.

“There were a lot of people from down South who said “Yes, ma’am and yes, sir," he explained, "and kids from Maine or New England who said if they said the word “ma’am” it would be considered disrespectful.”

Kulstad found this regional language difference interesting to contemplate, adding he was teased by his new friends for his Minnesota accent.

He now corresponds and stays in touch with his new friends across the country via letters and snail mail. Who knew he would enjoy writing and receiving hand-written letters?

“It is his way to be genuine now,” said his mother, Hayley Kulstad.

Youth grief

Kulstad wrote a 200-word essay as part of his Senate page application. He suggested the United States dedicate more funds to study the effects of youth grief in schools and provide needed counseling resources to support youth who experience loss and grief.

As a young adolescent who lost a friend in seventh grade to suicide, Kulstad said “that was a rough experience.”

Today he serves as a junior leader and volunteer for a Fairview Health Services program called Youth Grief Services that provides grief and bereavement services to kids and families following the death of a parent or sibling. He worked alongside an adult leader who offered support to youth from 9 to 11 years old.

“I have always been passionate about helping people going through times like that,” Kulstad said.

Looking to potential careers after college, Kulstad is curious about a future in politics, but he may be driven to pursue a path in the medical field. He liked the rewarding feeling of helping others who experienced loss as he recalled a young girl who lost her mother and grandmother and needed support to cope with the profound loss.

What did this young man take away from supporting grieving young people?

“I have learned you are never alone in the process of it,” he said. “There are always people willing to help you... The grief is always going to be there, but the way you decide to tackle it and deal with it is what is going to make life more positive after dealing with the loss of a loved one.”

College bound

Next summer, Kulstad hopes to return to Washington, D.C. as an intern before heading off to college.

Kulstad said he felt very comfortable living in Washington D.C. and that he would love the opportunity to attend Georgetown University and study political science.

Expressing reflections and opinions about his time spent in the U.S. Senate, Kulstad looks forward to writing papers about his adventures in D.C. for his senior classes and college application essays.

“I definitely felt pretty at home there after three weeks," said Kulstad. "It was a good experience to live and work up there; it was an incredible experience and I felt fortunate that I was called to be a part of that.”