Tall and elegant in her crisp blue suit, Lois Capps looks like a Congresswoman. She finds the job exciting and works hard to be an effective representative, but Lois was led to it in a difficult way. Her husband Walter died suddenly of a heart attack after serving ten and a half months in Congress.

"You know I work for you?" she asks the students. "So here I am -- reporting for duty."

Chelsea asks Lois what she feels are our biggest concerns as a nation; without a moment's hesitation, Lois mentions education.

"One of the key ways to ensure that our wonderful way of life continues," she explains, "is through our schools. Many people face barriers - but in schools, everyone has a chance. If you have an opportunity to learn, you can do whatever you want to with your life. My goal is to keep that opportunity there. Schools are the best thing we have in our country -- I literally believe that -- and that's why I work so hard for our schools in Congress. We all have to pay attention to our schools because that's the secret to success for our country."

"Of course there are other concerns as well. We also need to have a defense system in place to protect our borders, and we need to make sure we have support for highways, libraries, hospitals - it's amazing how many things we depend upon. Government doesn't do all of that, but people like me have to make sure there are programs in place to keep the infrastructure going."

Nole and Trevor ask about Congress' role in funding research for diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease and diabetes. Lois is sympathetic and supportive. "There's so much work to do, and I am working on a bill for this. We want to set aside money to do research, and also to keep Medicare in place for older people, and make sure it covers the medicines that are available. When people in our own community are suffering, my role as your representative is to go to my colleagues in Congress and ask them to help out and get this bill passed. I have to work hard and get good ideas passed into law."

"How do you find out what the people in your district want you to do?" asks another student.

"I'm doing it right now. My job is to listen really carefully all day, every day, about what people think I should be helping with. Then I go back to Washington D.C. - with a great staff to help - and work on it."

Frannie asks if it's hard. "Yes, it's a big job," replies Lois. "It's exciting, but it's also very humbling. I have met a lot of really interesting people who care about the country in the ways that I do. I've learned from them as well, and I've had the chance to do some really good things, too. I feel grateful for the opportunity. It makes me want to work very hard and do the best job I can."

Crystal asks Lois how she unwinds from all this pressure. "I have always loved going for a walk," Lois replies, "and at this point in my life that's my favorite thing to do when I am alone. I spend a lot of time on airplanes now, so for me to take a walk all by myself is fun. We live in a beautiful place! I love to walk on the beach or in my neighborhood, early in the morning -- it gives me time to think and get my priorities straight. There are a lot of things to sort out. Being outdoors helps me -- I can never do it quite as well inside."

"But I'm happiest of all when I'm with my family. I have two grandchildren; one is five and one is one. And I think about them a lot. I think the children of our district are the most important people."

Lois has loving advice for the sixth grade children. "You don't get to be a young person forever," she tells the class. "There's nothing better than a day like today to play and do whatever you want to do. So go out for recess and just run like crazy. Be healthy. Use the knowledge you have about what's good for you to do or not do. you are at an age when you are no longer a little kid; you're getting into that age where people are expecting things of you. It's hard, isn't it? Hard to grow up. So another tip I would give you is to find someone you can really trust. Maybe a parent, a relative, a teacher - and use that person."

Before she leaves, Lois asks the students what she should work on when she gets back to Washington. The kids express concerns about the Tajiguas dump, and about cleaning up the creeks and the ocean.

"Okay," Lois says, "I should work on pollution and the environment. But that's gonna mean changing our habits, too, and taking things like recycling very seriously."

"And we're concerned about public access to the Hollister Ranch and all the talk we've heard about turning this whole area into a national park ," Nole tells her, "This is not a good idea. We don't want to see it ruined like everything else."

"The Gaviota Coast is the largest remaining stretch of protected, still beautiful coastline in California from Mexico to beyond San Francisco," says Lois. "By keeping it in ranch and agriculture, we still have an opportunity to do something to protect it ... but I'm counting on you to help me out. We all have the same goal."

These kids know and love the Gaviota land as well as anyone, and they have suddenly become very animated. There is understandable uneasiness about government involvement here, even in the form of a "study," and even when presented by someone as well meaning as Lois Capps. The land has been preserved for generations by careful use and private stewardship, not by accident, but by the self-restraint and conscious choices of those who know it best. What we have been quietly doing for a long time has obviously worked. The evidence is in the beauty and viability of the natural surroundings, the very reason it is now drawing attention.

Lois is clearly energized by the discussion.

"I want to learn exactly why and how we can keep this coast for the future.'ll be back, I promise you. I'll be back."