The Youth Tour 2015 for Ohio and West Virginia is a group of 36 juniors and seniors from Ohio; and 2 juniors and seniors from West Virginia who are members of their local Cooperative Electric Companys. Paulding-Putnam Electric Cooperative is Maggie Wilson’s family’s co-op. The kids were scattered all across the state ranging from small Paulding, Ohio like Maggie Wilson (Antwerp High School student) or larger towns like Oxford to the big cities of Columbus and Cincinnati. They were all brought together by a common source, the local electrical co-ops who sponsored all of their trips.
The local co-ops were the people who went through the process of choosing who was able to attend the trip and day conference. Anyone else who was interested in attending, filled out an application, then were sent a booklet and a test that had to be completed and sent back. Finally, the student goes through a personal interview process. Miss Wilson commented on this section of the selection process, “This was a good experience for me not only to practice for a job, but because of the opportunity it gave me.”
After being chosen in March for the trip opportunity, participants started to receive information in the mail about the trip. This included things like dress code and itinerary. “The lead up to my trip was a very exciting and stressful time. I was nervous about going with so many strangers, but incredibly excited to meet these new and fascinating people,” stated Wilson.
Maggie continued to recall the beginning of her trip with the following:
“When the day finally arrived for me to leave my mother, my sister and I drove to Columbus to Buckeye power for a lunch and a small send off. This was where I had my first interactions with my new best friends. Adam, the tour director, had us go around and announce our names, co-ops and school. After that we loaded the bus. This was the most nerve-wracking part of the trip because I had no idea who I would end up sharing a seat with. I saw a girl and asked if she wanted to sit with me and she accepted. Then I saw a familiar face and then another. Through the power of social media I had found a few of the other Youth Tour attendants and one of the girls sat behind me and the other I recognized immediately. She attends Fairview High School and we had been in long jump in Track & Field together for a number of years. With the four of us then… Caleb to my right and Sam in front of me, we soon could not stop talking. My new amazing friends, Hannah from Columbus, Kelsie (the girl I knew), Alexis (the girl from Instagram), Caleb (the only person who had a last name after me, ever), and Sam (who was a character in her own way).”
The Tour saw many beautiful sights of our capital including Gettysburg and Mount Vernon, multiple Smithsonian’s, memorials and Arlington. But Maggie comments that, “the real beauty of this trip were the people. The amazing friendships I formed through our short week together are the friendships I will cherish and hold in my heart for the rest of my life. The memories we made not only as the state of Ohio, but also as the entire nation.”
Youth Day was the main day where the students got an opportunity to see their country’s national representatives. The conference took place right outside the city of Washington, DC in a hotel. The speakers ranged from an alumni of the tour, a man who had worked in Haiti to bring co-ops to the country and an inspirational speaker.
The Youth Tour is an incredible experience filled with fun sight seeing, some great laughs and so many amazing memories. Maggie concluded her recollection of this trip by stating, “I am unbelievably grateful to have been able to attend and will forever hold the friends and the memories in my heart. I hope to stay in contact with these people and can’t wait until we are all able to meet again.”
