Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray makes a trip out to Berkshire County. Our Sabina Kuriakose was there and has more.

LENOX, Mass. -- Senate President Therese Murray may be the most powerful woman in Massachusetts politics, but she faced tough questions from these students at Hillcrest Educational Centers. They asked about everything from the economy to the war in Iraq.

"I find it refreshing. It's nice to hear younger people, how they view the world. It kind of shocks you back into what you should be paying attention to," said Murray.

Murray sat down for a Q and A with students at Hillcrest's residential program for kids with behavior disorders.

"This is an excellent residential program. These kids have learned an awful lot coming here with the issues that they come here with and to reach the level that they have today is pretty remarkable," said Murray.

Student McKenna Fay said he wanted Murray to know just how much this program has turned his life around.

"They've done a lot," he said. "I grew up in a bad neighborhood. They changed my life around. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."

Fay said he knows not all kids get the chance to change, and he hopes the senator sees how important programs like Hillcrest's are.

"There's a lot of kids that need help and I was just trying to get that across," he said.

During her two-day trip to the Berkshires, Murray also stopped by Berkshire Health Systems. She said she'll take everything she's learned in the Berkshires back to Boston.