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Youth Tour: Win a FREE Trip to D.C.

Are you a Texas high school student? Would you like to travel, experience a big city and visit historic landmarks - all without spending a dime of your own money? Perhaps you'd like to meet your congressional representative, or maybe you're looking for a new experience in the company of other Texas teens. If that sounds like you, then enter our essay contest for the chance to win the trip of a lifetime!

San Patricio Electric Cooperative is proud to once again sponsor TWO local high school students from its service area to participate in Youth Tour, June 11-19, 2023.

Youth Tour is a chaperoned, all-expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capital. Our statewide association, Texas Electric Cooperatives, coordinates the trip. Students selected for this opportunity will join more than 150 of their peers from Texas and some 1,900 other students from across the U.S. on this trip of a lifetime. 

The trip starts with a day in Austin, where students tour the state Capitol, Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and Texas State Cemetery. They then fly to Washington for an action-packed week that includes tours of historic sites, museums and congressional offices, where they meet with their U.S. representatives. Other highlights of the trip include a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and an evening cruise on the Potomac River. 

How to apply?

Each year, SPEC holds an essay contest for interested students. The two students with the most outstanding essays win this FREE once-in-a-lifetime trip to the nation’s capital.

Download our Youth Tour application or apply online at the link below. AND submit a 300-500 word original essay answering the prompt: "What makes you a good candidate to represent SPEC on the 2023 Youth Tour and what do you expect to gain from your Washington, D.C. experience?"

The application deadline is February 3, 2023. EXTENDED to February 15, 2023.

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WHAT'S INCLUDED:

  • Airfare

  • Meals

  • Hotel accommodations

  • Attractions in Washington, D.C.

 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

  • You must be a high school junior or senior

  • Your GPA must be 3.0 or higher

  • Your parent/legal guardian must be a SPEC member

  • You must be in good standing with your school

 

The application deadline is February 15, 2023.

 

 

Be the next generation to attend the Government-in-Action Youth Tour in Washington D.C. this summer. Apply online today!

 

About Youth Tour

The Government-in-Action Youth Tour is a national cooperative initiative to send student’s to the nation’s capital. The program grew from the ideas of President Lyndon B. Johnson, an advocate of rural electrification and youth supporter. In 1957, when LBJ was still a Senator, he spoke at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Annual Meeting. In his speech he declared that young people should be sent to the national capital “where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”

Cooperatives across the nation soon got behind the idea and in 1964 created the first organized effort to send students to Washington D.C. for what is now known as the Government-in-Action Youth Tour. After more than 50 years, the Youth Tour has been able to send nearly 50,000 students from rural America to the nations’ capital. 

The Youth Tour Impact

Youth Tour is an incredible opportunity for local students. Those who are selected to participate in the program often gain life-long friendships and connections. The trip inspires careers and opens doors for these young students. Youth Tour alumni have gone on to become teachers, lawyers, politicians and even co-op employees.

There are also a number of opportunities available to Youth Tour Delegates and Alumni:

  • Youth Leadership Council - Once accepted to Youth Tour, participants can apply to be Texas’ one representative on the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Youth Leadership Council. YLC representatives return to Washington, D.C., in July for a leadership workshop with an emphasis on electric cooperatives and attend the NRECA Annual Meeting the following spring. Students apply for YLC in a packet of information they send to Texas Electric Cooperatives

  • Wreath-Laying Ceremony - Once accepted to Youth Tour, participants can apply to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Four students are selected each year. Students apply for the ceremony in a packet of information they send to Texas Electric Cooperatives.

  • Scholarships - Youth Tour Alumni are eligible to apply for the Glenn English National Leadership Foundation Scholarship. This scholarship program awards (1) $10,000 scholarship and (4) $1,000 scholarships each year exclusively to Youth Tour Alumni who have at least 1 year of college credits.
  • Internships - The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association offers paid summer internships in Washington, D.C., in disciplines including communications, accounting/finance, government relations and regulatory affairs, compliance and marketing. If you're looking for something more local, SPEC also offers paid summer internships. Let us know if you're interested!