Just ten years old and already possessing an impressive knowledge of politics, Seth Workman got a taste of what it is like being a politician for a day when he visited the Ohio Statehouse last month.
Both he and his dad, Rich Workman, received an exclusive tour of the Statehouse with Erich Bittner, legislative aide to Sen. Larry Obhof. They also had the chance to speak with Sen. Obhof, Rep. Mark Romanchuk, and Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor.
This opportunity arose with the help of Mansfield Christian School Elementary Principal Linda Hoeflich, who corresponded with Rep. Romanchuk and Sen. Obhof. Together, they arranged a day in which the Workmans could shadow Bittner to learn the ins and outs of a politician’s regular workday, recalled Rich Workman.
“Seth has always had a fascination for politics,” said his dad.
Thus, when asked what his favorite part of the trip was, the fifth-grader had a hard time narrowing it down to one thing in particular.
“I liked it all,” he summarized.
Rich Workman noted that they enjoyed visiting Rep. Romanchuk’s office and were able to question him regarding the EdChoice program, a topic in which they are particularly interested. “[Rep. Romanchuk] wasn’t sure of the answer, so he got on the phone right then and there and got the answer for us. It was neat to see it all happen so quickly,” said Rich Workman.
The MCS student also attended a Senate session, during which he was given a special introduction by Sen. Obhof.
At a Senate committee session, the Workmans witnessed different legislative processes, including the movement of bills from one department to another. They also were able to sit in on a meeting between Bittner and 3M Medina, a label manufacturing facility.
“One of the impressive things for me was that Obhof told Erich to clear his schedule for the day except for one meeting that we could be a part of. It was cool to be able to sit in on that,” said Rich Workman.
Another instance that made quite an impression on Rich Workman was a few years back when his son started naming all of the presidents in consecutive order of their terms of office.
“I had no clue that he knew them all. I was like, ‘Holy cow, I can’t believe he got all of those right,’” said Rich Workman.
Seth Workman explained that one day in third grade he decided to read a book in class about how to memorize the names of all of the presidents, and from then on his interest in politics grew more and more.
During a brief quiz session, his knowledge was put to the test. He was asked to name the 17th president and what was unique about that president, the Ohio governor’s name and political party, as well as the name of the president who was in office for four terms. Without hesitation, the political wiz responded with the correct answer.
Rich Workman said his son often gets books from the library about the presidents and enjoys watching programs on the History Channel. “I don’t know too many kids his age that like to watch the History Channel,” he added.
His fascination in politics is further displayed at school, where he was named president of his second grade class and currently serves on student council.
While politics are among his favorite interests, he’s not certain if he would like to pursue a political career one day, he said. He added that he enjoys learning about all sorts of subjects in school.
“He’s an exceedingly bright kid,” said his father.
“I had no clue that he knew them all. I was like, ‘Holy cow, I can’t believe he got all of those right,’” said Rich Workman.
