Snake River High junior selected for prestigious national program

BLACKFOOT — AnnMarie Wolfley is a junior at Snake River High School. She was recently selected as one of two Idaho students to participate in the United States Senate Youth Program.

As part of the program, Wolfley — with Idaho’s other participant, Alyson Reed from North Gem High School in Bancroft — will take a trip to Washington, D.C., where they will sit in on addresses made by Senators and cabinet members. The duo will also take part in meetings with one of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices, according to a news release from the Idaho State Department of Education.

Wolfley has been interested in law and politics from a young age — 10, to be exact, she told EastIdahoNews.com. She was in fifth grade when she began to imagine herself in a career as a litigator, which would lead to a career in politics.

“I love politics — I always have,” she said. “… It’s so important to understand the world around us and to make a difference.”

As part of their selection into the program, both Wolfley and Reed will receive a $10,000 scholarship toward their undergraduate studies at the college of their choice.

“Seeing Idaho’s youth pursue their passions and learn more about governance, civics and democracy is exciting to see, and I’m so pleased that Alyson and AnnMarie will get the chance to experience this learning on the national level,” the Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said in the release. “I’m sure that they’ll come away from this opportunity with a new understanding of governing in America.”

Wolfley learned of this program through a posting from her school counselor, and she was immediately excited about the opportunity. So excited, in fact, that she completed the application process and required essay a full month before they were due.

She learned she was selected among the 10 finalists vying for the two spots in November.

“I got a voicemail saying that I’d been chosen and I just played the voicemail over and over again. I was so happy.”

Wolfley considered it an honor to be considered among the nine other finalists, all of whom she considers “amazing” people.

Following a process that included oral presentations and interviews in Boise, Wolfley learned she had been selected for the program and was nearly overcome with pride.

It was a major step toward one of her aspirations.

“One of my long-term goals is to work in the Idaho Senate — that would be amazing,” she said.

Wolfley is a member of the Snake River High speech and debate team, as well as the marching and jazz bands.

Her favorite part of speech and debate is researching the topics — learning points the opposition will present and concocting counterpoints.

“Other people’s opinions and views really fascinate me, so it’s fun for me to, just, respond to them,” she said.

Her musical interests began with the piano, which she and her four younger siblings all learned to play from their mother. But her main instrument is the marimba — which she described as “kinda like a big xylophone.”

“Music is a big part of my life. I love music,” Wolfley said.

Though she still has another year and a half of high school, Wolfley has already laid out her plans for life after graduation — understanding that plans change.

“I have a vision, but we’ll see where life takes me,” she said.

That vision is, perhaps, a bit more refined than many her age.

First, she wants to attend Utah State University, where she plans on majoring in English Education. Then, she will go to law school before practicing law as she prepares for the endgame of being a state senator.

For now, though, her focus is on the week of March 2 to March 9, when she will go to the Nation’s Capital and take a peek behind the curtain of the political world.