Government-in-Action Youth Tour

South Plains Electric Cooperative will send four students on the 2010 Youth Tour June 10-18. To earn your spot on this incredible trip, you have to be a junior or senior in high school. Once you enter the contest, all you have to do is tell a panel of judges why you would be a great Cooperative representative on the Youth Tour. It's that easy! No essays to write. No detailed speeches to prepare. It will be more like an interview, but instead of selling yourself for a job, you will be selling yourself for a FREE trip to Washington, D.C.

Contests will be held on the following dates:

Gate City Division - November 16, 2009 (Childress office)
Dickens Division - November 30, 2009 (Spur office)
Lubbock Division - December 14, 2009 (North office located off I-27 & Municipal Drive)

We will select one recipient from both the Gate City and Dickens Divisions and two from the Lubbock Division.

The Youth Tour brings more than 1,300 high school students to Washington, D.C., every year, and has since the early 1960s. More than 40,000 students from rural areas and small towns all over America have participated in this unique program.

Students on the tour learn about electric cooperatives, American history and U.S. government. They attend educational seminars, visit with their representatives in the House and the Senate, and see the sights around Washington, D.C. To learn more, go to www.youthtour.coop.

Eligibility:

You must be a high school junior or senior and not older than 19 by June 11, 2010. Students compete for the opportunity by participating in an interview process. The Cooperative selects students for this program through the overall strength of the applicant. For more information, contact Peggy Teague

Contest rules:

Participants will be required to appear before an independent panel of judges to discuss the following questions.

Why should I be chosen as South Plains Electric Cooperative’s delegate to the 2010 Youth Tour?
What would going to my nation’s Capitol mean to me? What would I like to gain from the experience?
What does it mean to me to have the Cooperative make this trip available?
What do I know about South Plains Electric Cooperative and Touchstone Energy? What do I know about the cooperative principles and Touchstone Energy values?

Participants will have 5–7 minutes of interview time.
Judges will have the opportunity to ask additional questions.

Judging:

Participants will be chosen based on how well they present themselves to the judges while answering the questions listed above (75 percent) and on their speaking ability, appearance and poise (25 percent).

Start Interview Entry Form Online

-or-
Download a printable form (152KB PDF).