Five Frederick County students will serve as pages, and one as alternate, for the Maryland General Assembly 2020 legislative session. All are high school seniors.
They are Ademola Adeyemi, Tuscarora High School; Melanie Andrew, Catoctin High School; Connor Kelly, Urbana High School; Lauren Leatherman, Middletown High School; and Joshua Milliken, Oakdale High School. The alternate is Sydney Dailer, Frederick High School.
Serving as a legislative page is a unique opportunity for students to learn firsthand about the workings of the legislative process in Maryland. Apportionment of pages, by county, is based on the census taken at the beginning of each decade.
Ademola Adeyemi is first vice president of the Frederick County Association of Student Councils, a Maryland Association of Student Councils Western Divisional liaison, and Senior Class president at Tuscarora High. He is also president of his school’s Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity-sponsored Necktie Club and participates in Mock Trial competition. Ademola is working through a Black Student Fund internship to develop a program for youth in Maryland. He maintains a weighted GPA above 4.0, is active in his religious community and has also served as his school’s Junior Class president and worked at the Minority Law and Research Institute.
Melanie Andrew is president of the Frederick County Association of Student Councils, parliamentarian of Catoctin High’s Student Government Association and SkillsUSA, and vice chair of the Maryland Association of Student Councils State Board of Education Advisory Committee. She maintains a weighted GPA above 4.0 and is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Social Studies Honor Society, and the National Society of High School Scholars. She has assisted with the Catoctin Softball Camp and Thurmont Primary Jumpstart. A recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. award in 2013, Melanie also participates in Mock Trial competition.
Connor Kelly has earned multiple honors and awards for high academic achievement throughout high school, including the AP Scholar award, completing 10 Advanced Placement classes and a dual enrollment course. He represented Maryland as a delegate at the nationwide Conference on National Affairs, during which he wrote and debated a policy proposal to help end the opioid crisis. Connor is vice president of Maryland Youth and Government at Urbana High. He was lacrosse team captain and a member of the football team. Connor has worked at Tri-Kelly Construction and served as chief squire of the Columbian Squires, Frederick.
Lauren Leatherman is a National Honor Society and National Society of High School Scholars member. She earned the Minds in Motion Scholar Athlete Award for two years. She co-captains varsity indoor and outdoor track and field, is executive producer for her school’s Round Table Media programming, and has performed extensive community service including a Girls on the Run Mid and Western Maryland internship, volunteering at the Frederick Soup Kitchen, and organizing a service project called Helping Women and Girls through her church, collecting feminine hygiene products for Faith House, a temporary homeless shelter for women and children in Frederick County.
Joshua Milliken has served as a peer mentor guiding students through the high school process and child mentor/tutor for middle school students. He has earned the Outstanding Ensemble Performance Award for participation in the musical Grease and performed in his school’s Poetry Out Loud competition and with the Frederick Chorale. He was a member of the Model United Nations Security Council and participated four years in the Frederick County Conference and Johns Hopkins University Conference in Baltimore. He organized a STEM camp for elementary and middle school students, was co-founder and captain of his school’s Science Olympiad team, and captain of the varsity cross country team.
Sydney Dailer (alternate) has participated in numerous school activities and groups including as Student Government Association secretary, Model United Nations, Interact Club co-president, Green Team president and PJs with a Purpose. She is secretary of her school’s National Honor Society, treasurer of her school’s Science National Honor Society, a member of Spanish Honor Society, English National Honor Society and her school’s Senior Executive group. She has also played on varsity and JV volleyball teams, unified track, and unified bocce. Sydney has earned the Varsity Athletics Award, a Minds in Motion Scholar Athlete Award and the AP Scholar with Distinction Award.
For more information, contact Frederick County Public Schools Secondary Social Studies curriculum specialist Colleen Bernard, 301-644-5256.