Youth are the future of our cooperative — our future members, employees and trustees. They are also our future community builders, business owners, teachers and government leaders. Victory Electric understands how vital it is to help them develop leadership skills and educate them about their role as citizens.

Since the late 1950s, the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour (Youth Tour) has been doing just that by taking high school students from across the country to Washington, D.C. They join more than 1,000 other students in the nation’s capital to learn about America’s past by visiting historic monuments and touring some of the country’s finest museums. Youth Tour delegates also meet with their elected officials on Capitol Hill and learn about rural advocacy and how electric cooperatives make a difference in their communities.

Following a three-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kansas Youth Tour delegation returned to D.C. this summer. Victory Electric selected Izaiah Pearce, an incoming senior at Bucklin High School, and Jacelyn Huelskamp, an incoming senior at South Gray High School, for the all-expenses-paid trip after the students submitted an application, résumé and video and completed an interview.

Both are leaders in their schools, and they excel in athletics, extracurricular activities and community service. Participating in Youth Tour from June 15 to 22 enabled them to build on their existing leadership and citizenship skills, and we are excited to see what they will accomplish while serving their schools and communities in the future.

The Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp (CYLC) at a mountain resort near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, also gives youth the opportunity to develop leadership skills, build community and make memories. High school students from Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming will attend Leadership Camp July 14 to 20 — including Karla Garcia Sepulveda, an incoming senior at Dodge City High School, and Kale Nagel, an incoming senior at Bucklin High School. Leadership Camp participants will learn about the electric cooperative industry by forming their own model cooperative, raft on the Colorado River, tour a power plant and enjoy the mountain scenery, all while cultivating connections with other youth.

Developing meaningful, in-person relationships is especially important for Generation Z. Born between 1997 and 2012, members of Gen Z (also called zoomers) have always lived in a world with online connectivity and internet access available. These digital natives tend to be creative and tech-savvy, and they embrace hands-on, collaborative learning. Unfortunately, spending so much time online can also lead to isolation and loneliness. Whether they’re taking a cruise along the Potomac River or hiking in the Rocky Mountains together, the young people attending Youth Tour and Leadership Camp this summer are forming friendships and having valuable, face-to-face social interactions with their peers and adult leaders. 

Victory Electric also invests in future leaders by offering 10 Lightner Community Spirit Scholarships each year. The $1,000 scholarships are awarded to high school seniors and college students who have demonstrated academic success and commitment to bettering their communities.

Encourage your children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors to apply for these valuable leadership opportunities. Applications for the 2024 Youth Tour and Leadership Camp will open this fall, and scholarship applications will open early next year. Learn more at victoryelectric.net/youth-tour-cooperative-leadership-camp.

Thanks, Shane