The opportunity to meet legislators is one of the many things that makes Washington Youth Tour different from other student trips to the nation’s capital. Three local rising high school seniors sponsored by Palmetto Electric Cooperative took full advantage of that opportunity when they went on the all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June.
Bella Johnson of Hilton Head Island, Braeden Mancini of Bluffton and Alex Rosier of Estill joined 54 other student delegates representing South Carolina’s electric cooperatives for six days in the nation’s capital area. The students visited historical and educational sites such as George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Mall and the National Pentagon 9/11 Memorial.
In addition to the museums, memorials and monuments, the students also spent a day at the U.S. Capitol where they toured the complex, visited Congressional offices and met with staff members. Afterwards, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott spent time talking with the students and answering their questions on the Capitol steps.
“Meeting with Sen. Tim Scott especially had a large impact on me,” says Johnson. “He wanted to give back because of his mother. I related to that because I also was raised by a single mother, and I really appreciate where he came from. He didn’t have to take as much time as he did, taking pictures, talking to all of us and answering our questions. I think that really showed his character.”
Throughout the trip, the students learned about how cooperatives work by participating in activities like the Soda Pop Co-op. The student-run co-op sold snacks and beverages to their fellow youth tourists in between stops and at the end of their jam-packed days. Rosier served as one of the cooperative board members and helped hire the management team. As member-consumers, the students each received $7.50 in capital credits, their share of the co-op’s end-of-trip margins. The exercise allowed the students to learn first-hand how the not-for-profit co-op business model works.
In a display of the Seventh Cooperative Principle, “Concern for Community,” the students donated a portion of their capital credits, a total of more than $250, to a good cause. The donation went to Kid’s Closet, a co-op affiliated outreach program that provides essential items like hygiene products and laundry detergent to temporarily homeless youth throughout South Carolina.
South Carolina’s youth tourists were not the only student delegates in Washington. They were among more than 1,600 students representing electric cooperatives across the nation. The students traded their state pins with one another and went on a riverboat dinner cruise along the Potomac River. Youth tourists from across the country also gathered for National Youth Day where they learned about the rich history of electric cooperatives and the important role of being an active participant in our democracy. We know the future of our nation is bright, thanks to impressive students like these!
