Ames from Bob Jones serving as U.S. Senate Page

Lilli Ames, a junior at Bob Jones High School, is serving as a U.S. Senate page. (CONTRIBUTED)

In the U.S. Capitol, Lilli Ames stands with her fellow Senate Pages for the 113th U.S. Congress. Ames is in the third row, last person to the right. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Instead of arriving for class on Hughes Road, Lillian ‘Lilli’ Ames has been reporting to Capitol Hill as a U.S. Senate Page. She is a junior at Bob Jones High School.

Ames is among 30 other juniors from the continental United States selected as pages. She was chosen from Alabama’s pool of applicants. Ames assist Sen. Jeff Sessions; another page helps Sen. Richard Shelby.

Bob Jones counselors Patty Piro and Sheila Roberts selected Ames to represent Bob Jones. After submitting lengthy applications, Ames rose to top among other applicants and left for Washington D.C. last August. She just returned for the spring session.

As a ‘Republican’ page, she runs errands for the Republican cloakroom, retrieves podiums and waters for senators preparing to speak, runs vote tallies to and from Capitol offices and handles some “housecleaning” tasks.

“My most difficult task was the schooling from 6:15 to 9:45 a.m. The classes were very rigorous, each (with) four hours of homework. That alone while working a full-time job was, at times, exhausting,” Ames said.

She is lodging at the U.S. Senate Page Dorm, Webster Hall, three blocks from the Capitol building. The dorm has around-the-clock guards.

Ames has enjoyed meeting people from across the country. “I’ve made some new lifelong friends,” Ames said. On the senate floor daily, senators often talked to pages and “were all very friendly and engaging. That’s one part I’ll miss the most.”

At Bob Jones, Ames participates in International Thespian Society, Student Government Association, Environmental Science and Spanish clubs and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, “a great place to bond with others who follow Jesus Christ.”

“I enjoy all the clubs and can’t wait to get back to them,” she said.

Her parents are Timothy and Bonnie Ames. He teaches science at Bob Jones. She works as an executive secretary for Keller Williams, Gifford Group in Huntsville. Lilli’s sister Audrey graduated from Bob Jones in 2014, is enrolled at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City and currently is in India on a mission trip.