JACKSON (AP) — Like other teenage pages at the Mississippi Capitol this week, Derek Schmitz is running errands, chatting with lawmakers and absorbing details of public policy debates.

    The 19-year-old senior at Mississippi School for the Deaf said he has learned as much about human nature as about how bills becomes laws.

    ‘‘I have learned that politicians are not a bunch of boring old men who sit around, but they can have a lot of fun, as well,’’ Schmitz said through a sign language interpreter. ‘‘They definitely know when to be professional and when it’s time for business.’’

    Hundreds of young people — usually in high school, but sometimes as young as elementary school — work as pages at the Mississippi Capitol each year, for a week at a time.

    Mississippi School for the Deaf Superintendent Sandra Edwards said this is the first time in her 22 years as a teacher or administrator at the state-supported school that she remembers one of its students becoming a page.

    ‘‘It just kind of opened up a whole new world for him,’’ Edwards said of Schmitz, who scored 23 of a possible 36 on the ACT college entrance exam and is on track to become valedictorian this year.

    Schmitz applied to for a $150-a-week paging job after meeting Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, who toured the residential campus in Jackson.

    Schmitz has attended the School for the Deaf since he was 5. Although his family lives in the Jackson suburb of Florence, he has lived in the dormitories since he was 8 because he wanted to socialize with other students and take part in after-school activities. He plays football and basketball and runs track. He also played tennis for two years.

    Schmitz was born deaf and started learning sign language as a toddler. He also reads lips. He has been accompanied at the Capitol this week by School for the Deaf interpreter Zachary Breland.

    Savannah Stafford, a 16-year-old junior at Stone High School in Wiggins, is also paging this week and said she and Schmitz have exchanged notes to talk about sports.

    ‘‘He’s a gentleman,’’ Stafford said with a smile. ‘‘He always says, ’Ladies first.’’’

    Mayo said Schmitz has shown a genuine interest in the legislative process.

    ‘‘I’ve learned a lot from him. It’s just a pleasure to see a guy who enjoys working so much,’’ Mayo said.

    Schmitz will attend Gallaudet University in Washington next year on academic and football scholarships.

    He said he has always wanted to be a veterinarian — but now that he’s had a taste of politics, he might want to run for public office one day.

    When Schmitz goes back to school next week, he’ll have plenty to tell his friends, including stories about how House members hazed a freshman by swiping the new guy’s chair. Schmitz heard about other pranks, too, but he’s not telling everything.

    ‘‘What happens in the House of Representatives,’’ he deadpanned, ‘‘stays in the House of Representatives.’’