Youth Tour

Attention high school juniors: Apply to go on an all expense paid trip to the nation’s capital!

Tour Dates: June 14 to 20, 2026
Deadline: The deadline to apply for the 2026 Youth Tour was Feb. 5, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
Guidelines and Application:
- Guidelines
- Application

What is Youth Tour?

The Youth Tour is sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (NRECA). High school students from across the country gather each June for an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. as part of the annual NRECA’s Youth Tour.

Participants tour many nationally significant sites, including possible stops such as:

Arlington National Cemetery
Supreme Court
Abraham Lincoln Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Gettysburg Battlefield
Smithsonian Institution

They also have the opportunity to talk with their congressional leaders at the U.S. Capitol.

Our students join representatives from Ohio’s 24 other electric cooperatives as they traveled to the nation’s capital. They also have the opportunity to participate in Youth Day, where 1,800 students from across the country learn about the rich history of electric cooperatives and the importance of being an active participant in government.

Eligibility

To be eligible, a student must:

Be a high school junior
Have parents or guardians who are members of South Central Power

Congrats 2025 Attendees

Congrats to the delegates:

Autumn Overby from Logan Elm High School
Andrew Pohlman from New Hope Christian High School

They represented South Central Power this summer at Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. The students met 1,800 other co-op teens from around the country.

Past Attendees

In 2024, Kailen King from New Hope Christian High School and Ellie Moss from Amanda-Clearcreek High School participated in the Washington Youth Tour, a life-changing trip that brings more than a thousand high school juniors and seniors to Washington, D.C., from all across America.
In 2023, Dylan Catte from Bloom-Carroll High School and Mackenzie Henry from Ohio Connections Academy participated.
In 2022, Paige Arbaugh of Jewett, Grace O’Grady of Pickerington, and Josie Speakman of Stoutsville joined 38 other students from across Ohio for the weeklong trip.
In 2020, Morgan Anderson from Amanda-Clearcreek High School and Erin Thompson from Logan Elm High School were named our 2020 Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour delegates. Unfortunately, the Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., was cancelled due to COVID-19, but Morgan and Erin were invited to participate in a series of virtual events hosted by NRECA.
In 2019, Parker Hamilton from Teays Valley High School and Kyle Hicks from Amanda Clearcreek were delegates.
Ty List from Baltimore was the 2018 Youth Tour delegate from South Central Power.
In 2017, Mikayla Hicks, a student from Amanda-Clearcreek High School, represented South Central Power in the Youth Tour.
Twins Shannyn and Tyler Carpenter of Zane Trace High School were selected to represent South Central Power on the 2016 Youth Tour.