DCHS Students Selected by GreyStone for Youth Tour in Washington, D.C.
Douglas County High School students Alexandria Criner and Ososese Okojie have been selected by GreyStone Power Corporation to participate in the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington D.C. this June. A program of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the national service organization that represents America's electric cooperatives, the Youth Tour has been bringing students to Washington since the late 1950s. Nearly 50,000 students from rural areas and small towns across America have participated to date.
According to a statement on the NRECA’s website, “We believe that students should see their nation’s capital up close, learn about the political process and interact with their elected officials. The Georgia delegation, made up of over 100 students this year, is chosen and sponsored by individual co-ops across the state.
Candidates are student leaders in good academic standing recommended by counselors and teachers from participating high schools in the GreyStone’s eight-county service area of Douglas, Paulding, Fulton, Carroll, Cobb, Bartow, Coweta and Fayette.
GreyStone’s selection process begins in January of each year and winners are selected in early March. Students may complete an interest form to compete for the opportunity. GreyStone representatives then contact the interested students with the application materials. Candidates are required to submit a short video explaining the importance of leadership in their generation. The three students with the strongest applications are chosen. Only juniors who are at least 16 years of age as of June 14, 2024, may participate this year. Participating students must attend all program events.
Youth Tour directors from each state arrange their delegation’s visits to the offices of their U.S. representatives and senators, federal agencies and other educational and sightseeing activities. In addition to the planned statewide activities, the Youth Tour experience encompasses multi-state activities coordinated by NRECA.
In 2023, more than 1,800 youth delegates and chaperones attended at different times over a two-week period in June. Forty-four states were represented.
Youth Tour Alumni Scholarships are available to past participants once they reach college and begin working on their first undergraduate degree. Awarded by the Glenn English National Cooperative Leadership Foundation, Youth Tour alumni have received almost $100,000 in scholarships since 2014. For more information, visit
GreyStone's Washington Youth Tour page.