October 2009
Adventures Away from Home
by Susan M. Espinoza
Every June since the late 1950s, high school students from across rural America gather in our nation’s capital to learn about the importance of electric cooperatives. They also meet with legislative leaders and tour historical sites such as the Smithsonian Institution, Arlington National Cemetery and Mount Vernon. Many leaving their hometown for the first time.
Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson inspired the Youth Tour when he addressed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Annual Meeting in Chicago in 1957. The Senator and future president declared, “If one thing goes out of this meeting, it will be sending youngsters to the national capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”
Electric cooperatives responded with the annual Government-In-Action Youth Tour. The Youth Tour is coordinated by NRECA and the electric statewide associations. The selection process of choosing high school students varies from participating cooperatives. Some require students to complete an application and participate in an essay contest or interview. Other cooperatives select a topic related to the industry and ask students to write about it. Regardless of how the students are chosen, the cooperatives pays their expenses excluding spending money.
This is New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NMRECA) twelfth year participating. Lina Garcia, office manager of NMRECA, has coordinated the Youth Tour for New Mexico’s delegation since the beginning, and is also a chaperone on the Youth Tour. “This trip is an opportunity for students across New Mexico to see our nation’s capital and learn about electric cooperatives. They also get to meet with New Mexico’s congressional leaders,” says Garcia. “It is a lifetime opportunity and an experience students will remember.”
Over 1,500 students from across rural America participate in the Youth Tour annually. New Mexico’s electric cooperatives sponsored 34 students this year.
Seize the Opportunity
Sophie Swingle, sponsored by Jémez Mountains Electric, headquartered in Española, was one of the 34 students to participate in the 2009 Youth Tour.
Swingle, who had heard about the Youth Tour at school, submitted her application and entered the essay contest. She was selected along with two other students to represent her cooperative on the Youth Tour. When Swingle was notified she was a winner, she says she was thrilled. Her first thought she excitedly says was, “Wow! An all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., with other students from New Mexico!” She says she walked away from this trip learning more about electric cooperatives and energy conservation. “There’s so much more than just flipping a switch to get the power on.” And she now turns off the lights whenever she leaves a room.
She also learned about how our government system works, and found it interesting to meet New Mexico’s congressional leaders.
During the week-long tour she was selected by the New Mexico chaperones as the Youth Leadership Council (YLC) delegate. Swingle will represent New Mexico electric cooperatives at national, regional, statewide, and local electric cooperative annual meetings. She travelled to Washington, D.C., in July to attend the YLC Conference. While there, she and delegates from other states attended meetings, gave speeches, visited electric cooperatives, and learned more about the electric cooperative movement.
Meanwhile, Swingle remains busy with school and sport activities. What does her future hold? After graduation she will pursue a masters degree at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and become a fighter pilot. She is already taking steps towards her career. Her sophomore year she attended a special session at the Naval Academy, and is currently taking flying lessons.
Swingle encourages all high school students to try out for the Youth Tour. “Work hard to go on such a life changing experience trip. Seize the opportunity!”
Culture Shock? No Way
Andrew Romero felt right at home in Washington, D.C. He was sponsored by Mora-San Miguel Electric, headquartered in Mora, during the 2004 Youth Tour. To most, leaving a rural community nestled in the foothills to a large city would be a bit of a culture shock. Not for Romero. Prior to leaving to D.C., that summer, he had just returned from Florida. Romero says he “learned about electric cooperatives and learned the history of our country,” during the Youth Tour. His favorite part of the trip he says was the Potomac River boat cruise. “I met a lot of people that night.” He recommends any high school student “to apply for the Youth Tour because it’s a great experience.” Now at age 22 and a senior at the University of New Mexico, Romero will soon graduate with a degree in pharmacy.
Bus Blues
Rewind back to 1999, two years after New Mexico first participated in the Youth Tour. Back then it was a two-week conference for New Mexico’s delegates. Why? Because students and chaperones went by bus! Years later participants and chaperones boarded a plane instead.
Mandy Davis, now Riley, clearly remembers the two-week-long trip. She was sponsored by Central Valley Electric, located in Artesia, for the 1999 Youth Tour. This was her first time travelling so far away from home without her family. She was 18 at the time. Though she was away from her family, fellow New Mexico students on the trip soon became her new family. “When you’re on the bus for so long, you become close friends with the other students,” she says.
Riley was selected as a candidate for the trip after answering essay questions and speaking with professionals in the electric industry. “I was really excited to go on the trip.” One of the highlights she remembers is, “meeting with our United States Senators and Representatives. You hear and see them on television and the radio, but to actually meet them in person is something else.”
She says it was an honor to represent her electric cooperative during the Youth Tour. Upon her return home, she spoke about the conference and what she learned to anyone who would listen. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was an opportunity to visit landmarks and do things that a person may never get to do again.” With all the fond memories made and photos Riley took during the trip, she later created her first scrapbook.
After graduation, Riley attended Texas Tech University and received her degree in sociology. She then went back to school and received her teacher certification. She now teaches fourth grade in Houston, and continues to make scrapbooks but more so of her one-year-old son.
Supporting Communities
The Government-In-Action Youth Tour is one of several ways electric cooperatives strongly support their communities. They also offer scholarship programs to local youth, and sponsor other youth programs. The cooperatives also provide safety training in local schools and to organizations. If you would like more information on any of these programs mentioned, contact your local electric cooperative.
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