Youth Tour

2023 Youth Dates: June 17-23, 2023

The application Deadline was on February 10, 2023.
Winners will be announced in the spring. 

2022 Youth Tourists Miciah Freeman and Devonna Cooper

You may already be eagerly anticipating the day when you will graduate from high school and will begin your young adult life and the independence it will bring. But the day you’ll be packing your bags and heading off to college is still a year away. While you wait for that day, why not make one of your last summers before college a memorable one? Get away for a week-long, all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, and enjoy meeting over a thousand other students from across the nation as you experience all the nation’s capitol has to offer.

The annual National Electric Cooperative Youth Tour presents a unique opportunity for you, along with 30 other rising seniors representing North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives throughout North Carolina, join fellow youth tourists from every state in the nation for a week of learning and fun. You will tour the halls of Congress, attend Smithsonian and other DC museums, tour exciting DC landmarks and make memories to last a lifetime. All while learning the countless ways electric cooperatives contribute to the country.

North Carolina has participated in the Youth Tour since 1967, and since then, more than 1,000 young people have experienced this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Although learning is a major aspect of the trip, the fun of getting to know other teens from across the state and the nation is emphasized as a major focus of the event. Countless life-long friendships have been forged by teens at Youth Tour, and some have been so affected by the experience as to have it shape the course of their lives.

Each year, Roanoke Cooperative sponsors students from its service area who proudly represent their electric co-op on this amazing trip. Don’t miss this unique opportunity, apply to be the next Roanoke Cooperative Youth Tourist!

To learn more about the youth tour, go to the NC Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour page.

While in Washington, DC, the electric cooperative representatives from throughout the United States will enjoy a week of fun and learning. These young people will enjoy the following experiences during the Youth Tour:

  • Attend an All States Dance.
  • Cruise the Potomac River
  • Participate in Youth Day, where students learn more about America’s electric cooperatives
  • Lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery
  • Visit Capitol Hill and meet with our North Carolina Senators and Congressmen
  • Visit the sites of Washington, D.C. including the monuments
  • Visit the Smithsonian museums
  • Visit the Newseum
  • Visit the Holocaust Museum and
  • Dinner and a show at the Kennedy Center

Application for 2023 Youth Tour

Step 1 of 3

  • Student Profile