LIVING WITH
PURPOSE by Leena Duwadi | photos courtesy of Page Austin
“THIS LIFE IS SHORT. DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE BEING SAD, ANGRY, OR DISAPPOINTED. EMBRACE EACH DAY AS A GIFT”.
I
t was a once in a lifetime moment for Page Austin when she heard former First Lady Laura Bush praising her in front of her family. The year was 2003, and Page, who was 22, was working as a staff assistant for Mrs. Bush and was with her on an official trip after Hurricane Katrina.
Mrs. Bush gushed over her assistant. “I am so thankful for your daughter. Page does an amazing job and is serving the American people well. You should be very proud of her.”
at the U.S. Department of Education.
She was contacted by the First Lady’s
office asking if she knew of anyone who
would want to work in her office. She sent Naturally, Page was blushing. “I traveled
to the Gulf Coast with her many times as
over my resume, and I was called for an interview,” Page shared.
my family is from there. On one of the first
Before that, she worked at the U.S.
my family was at the event because she
Schedule C Appointee.
trips, Mrs. Bush called me to make sure
Department of Energy as a Presidential
wanted to talk to them. I said no…haha. I
Austin was ambitious and hardworking
am a staff person. She insisted, though,” Page said. “So when we arrived at the
event, Mrs. Bush made her way around the venue meeting people, and then when we
came to my family, she shook their hands.” As the Lifestyle Manager in Harvest, Page Austin is a proud American who worked at The White House for five glorious
years at the beginning of her career. She
joined the First Lady’s office as an assistant for projects and policy and was later
promoted to Deputy Associate Director. 42 | ARGYLE LIVING | JULY 2021
“I worked with a guy whose wife worked
since her college days. She went to
Mississippi State University and majored in political science. She was actively involved in student government,
college Republicans, and a government organization called the Stennis Montgomery Institute.
“I worked on tons of political campaigns. In 2000, I was offered an internship in
the Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott’s office. So summer of 2000, I was in
Washington DC. I worked hard and made www.LiveLocalMagazines.com
