Leadership tour/camp offers opportunities for high school students

If your parents get their electric power from San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative and you’re a high school junior or senior, then you can apply for a trip you’ll remember forever.
SLV REC invites high school students to represent the co-op at the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. from June 16-22, 2025.
Spend a week in Washington D.C. with other local student leaders learning the history of cooperatives, meeting with state representatives and developing leadership skills.
The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has brought high school students to Washington, D.C. every June since the late 1950s. Be part of nearly 1,500 high school students nationwide for a fun-filled, all-expenses-paid week in the nation’s capital!
Colorado Youth Tour participants begin the tour in Denver, where they learn about Colorado’s state government and rural electric cooperatives. From Denver, students fly to Washington, D.C., to attend educational seminars and visit with Colorado state representatives in the House and the Senate. Students will also visit historical sites, including the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Vernon, Arlington Cemetery, and the Smithsonian.
The Youth Tour is a great way to learn more about our nation’s history, develop leadership skills, understand electric cooperatives better and make lasting friendships.
Or if Washington, D.C. doesn’t interest you? REC will also send one student to the Youth Leadership Camp near Steamboat Springs from July 12-17, 2025. The camp brings young people from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming together to learn about how electric cooperatives operate and build their leadership skills— all while having tons of fun! The campers have the opportunity to serve on committees that plan activities throughout the week such as a banquet, dance, games and the daily operations. They ride a gondola, tour a power plant, see a variety of awesome speakers and presentations, go rafting and make memories of a lifetime.
To be the lucky winner of the Youth Tour or the Youth Leadership Camp, the application process includes submitting a 500-word essay or a three-minute video. The deadline for submitting applications is Jan. 7, 2025. More details can be found online HERE. Call or email Jennifer Alonzo at 719-852-6660 or jalonzo@slvrec.com with questions.