Six east Mississippi youth got the chance to explore national monuments and museums, as well as visit Capitol Hill, while representing East Mississippi Electric Power Association this week during a youth leadership tour of Washington, D.C.
The six students, who just completed their junior year in high school, joined peers from across the state and nation for the all-expense-paid Youth Tour, coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Representing EMEPA were LilyAnn Cooper, of Russell Christian Academy; Christian Hopson, or Northeast Lauderdale High School; Paisley Ivey, of Clarkdale High School; Erial Mays, of Noxapater Attendance Center; Clay Miles, of Kemper Academy; and Sam Nance, of Nanih Waiya Attendance Center. All were chosen through a competitive selection process sponsored by EMEPA.
In February, the six students joined other high school juniors from across the state for the 37th annual Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi Cooperative Leaders Workshop in Jackson during the first part of the leadership program. While in Jackson, they participated in problem-solving activities, toured the state Capitol, met with lawmakers and listened to presentations from motivational speakers.
More than 1,800 youth delegates and chaperones, many from rural and small towns across the nation, were expected to attend this week’s Youth Tour in Washington. Besides attending youth leadership activities and visiting Capitol Hill, the students got the chance to explore numerous monuments and memorials, including the Iwo Jima, Martin Luther King Jr., Korean War Veterans, Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans, Jefferson, FDR and 9/11 Pentagon memorials.
They also found time to visit the Smithsonian’s Air and Space and Natural History museums, Ford’s Theatre and the mind-bending Museum of Optical Illusions. The Mississippi students wrapped up their week in the nation’s capital with a Friday morning tour of Washington National Cathedral before heading home to east Mississippi.