For Students

Washington Youth Tour and Cooperative Youth Summit

Two local students will be given the opportunity of a lifetime!  We are excited to send one Junior (rising Senior) to Washington DC for the 2025 Washington Youth Tour and one Sophomore (rising Junior) to our South Carolina State Capital for the 2025 Cooperative Youth Summit.

The Electric Cooperative Washington Youth Tour is an annual event offered by Coastal Electric, coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC).  We will select a Junior student (rising senior) to represent their school, their State, and Coastal Electric as delegates on a week-long, all-expenses-paid educational trip to our nation’s capital. Participants get to see the government in action, visit historical sites, learn about co-ops, and meet students from around the nation. Students representing Coastal Electric are also eligible to compete for the R.D. Bennett College Scholarship awarded by the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina and compete for a position on the National Youth Leadership Council.

The Cooperative Youth Summit is a four-day, three-night event held in Columbia. The chosen student has the chance to enhance their leadership skills, engage in team-building exercises, learn about electric cooperatives and how state government works, and spend time with other cooperative students from across the entire state.

More than 1,800 students from across the country participated in 2024. South Carolina sent 57 Students total.

The application process will begin February 10, 2025.  All applications must be submitted on or before Monday, March 10, 2025.

To learn more about these two amazing opportunities, contact Samantha Jones at 843-538-9434.  Information on these trips and previous trips may also be found by visiting www.youthtour.coop and www.ecsc.org/washington-youth-tour

Paper applications are available upon request at the cooperative.