THOMASVILLE- Thomas County Central High School student Heali Patel recently returned from Washington, D.C., where she participated in the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour with Grady EMC.
According to Grady EMC, the Youth Tour has brought high school students to Washington every June since the late 1950s, allowing rising seniors to see the nation’s capital up close while learning about political processes and interacting with elected officials.
To partake in the tour, students are first recommended by their guidance counselor, before applying and participating in a group interview setting.
Patel explained that TCCHS Merit program coordinator Erin White chose 6-7 students to recommend for the program. The students were then met by Grady EMC’s Adam Starr, who placed them in a group interview. However, Patel said the interview differed from any interview she had previously done.
“He asked us scenario-based questions,” she said. “It’s not necessarily questions about us, but what we would do in a scenario. He really just looked for who was friendly and who would be the most open to the experience.”
Based on the group interview, Starr then selected three students from both TCC and Thomasville High School.
The three chosen were then required to participate in a personal interview at Grady EMC in February.
Grady EMC employees conducted the interview in a similar format to the group interview, choosing scenario-based questions rather than questions based on the student’s resume.
“They really just wanted to see what kind of person you are, and how open you are,” Patel said. “The whole trip is about embracing an experience and becoming open, while fully immersing yourself in it.”
Patel said the questions ensured no one student would be so reserved that they would close themselves off to the experience.
Upon the conclusion of her interview, Patel said she returned to school. Two days later, while sitting in biology class, she was notified she had been selected as one of the students to attend the Youth Tour.
“I immediately was so pumped,” Patel said. “If I could go back to myself in February, I would tell her the memories she would make and the people she would meet, she’s not even prepared for.”
In early April, Patel began receiving more information about the trip, but all the details were finalized in May, including the dress code.
“Our EMC coordinator wanted us to wear business casual every day,” she said. “His reasoning behind that was because you get treated more like a young adult when you’re wearing clothes like that instead of athletic shorts and t-shirts.”
Patel was grateful for the information, as she saw it firsthand when she arrived in D.C.
“There were other EMCs and they had groups of people wearing matching t-shirts and athletic shorts, and they were getting treated more like younger kids going on a trip, while we were being treated as adults,” she said. “Georgia EMC did a great job of making us feel like we were young adults on a trip and not just a bunch of high schoolers.”
Patel said the reaction to the way people were dressed is something she plans to carry with her, as she approaches her final year of high school and begins looking at colleges.
Dressing appropriately was only one of the many nuggets of wisdom picked up from the week, which all began in Atlanta, where the group started team building.
Patel explained the week started with a kickoff banquet in Atlanta, where each student was introduced, along with their EMC coordinator.
Following the banquet, groups were divided for team-building exercises. Patel admitted she was initially hesitant about the exercises, but said they were not the normal icebreakers and allowed her to get to know others in her group better.
The next morning, the group boarded their flight to D.C. to begin their once-in-a-lifetime experience.
While in D.C., Patel said they visited all of the Smithsonian museums, along with the Holocaust Museum, and all the D.C. memorials.
Patel was particularly touched by the Holocaust Museum, as she listened to recordings of survivors.
“I had never been to any sort of Holocaust museum,” she said. “The part that hit me the most was after they shaved their heads and gave them a tattoo, a young lady was looking for her mom, but no one responded to mom, so we had to call them by their first name.”
Patel said she couldn’t imagine not being able to recognize her mom, making the museum extremely personal.
While this moment was an emotional one, Patel strongly advocates for those interested in participating in the youth tour, as she has already recommended individuals to White who she thinks would be great candidates to represent TCC and Thomasville. Not only do they get to represent their hometown, but they meet people who will forever change their lives.
While there, Patel met Jacob Bennett of Cairo High School. Bennett’s selflessness was something Patel won’t forget.
During the trip, each student had pre-selected meals. With Patel being a vegetarian, she chose a roasted vegetable wrap. However, the wrap had hummus in it, which Patel is allergic to. Bennett switched his meal with Patel, not once but twice.
“You can do that for anybody, I’m sure my mom would, but the most surprising thing was the fact I met this guy two days ago and he did that for me,” she said. “It just really shows you there are so many kind people in this world.”
Patel said she still stays in contact with the people from the trip, many of whom are hoping to attend the University of Georgia just like she is. With that in mind, Patel said these friends she made could potentially lead to roommates and lifelong friendships.