Youth Tour 2025: June 16th - 21st, 2025
Youth Tour is an unforgettable, all-expenses paid, once-in-a-lifetime trip to Washington, D.C. Each year, more than 1,800 high school students from across the U.S. experience our nation's capital, tour monuments, museums, and memorials, and meet elected officials as part of the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour.
Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative, along with hundreds of other rural electric cooperatives across the country, sponsor students from their local communities to take part in this trip. If you're a high school junior who lives in a home powered by Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative, you could qualify to attend this free trip!
You'll make friendships that last a lifetime and become part of a group with over 50,000 alumni in every walk of life, including U.S. senators and CEOs. Apple's CEO Tim Cook visited Washington, D.C. for the first time during his junior year of high school as part of Youth Tour.
Youth Tour is open to any high school junior who resides in a home receiving electric service from Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative. Staff from Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative will chaperone New Jersey students who attend. 2025's trip takes place from Monday, June 16th to Saturday, June 21st. If you'd like to attend, please review our eligibility requirements on this page and access the application below. Completed applications must be received by Sussex REC by Friday, February 7th.
Explore!
On Youth Tour:
You will have the chance to explore Washington, D.C.'s many museums, monuments, and memorials. You'll experience sights honoring important figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and explore memorials dedicated to American conflicts in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as Arlington National Cemetery.
From solemn experiences such as the Pentagon Memorial and the Holocaust Museum to educational opportunities like the Smithsonian Museums and the Air & Space Museum, Youth Tour students sign up for a week full on nonstop activities that they'll never forget!
Learn!
On Youth Tour:
You will get to immerse yourself in our nation's history and discover your place in our democracy. You'll get to learn about the life experiences of your peers from other states while representing New Jersey on the national stage.
Youth Tour students have the opportunity to visit Capitol Hill for a guided tour of the Capitol Building and a meeting with their elected representative where you can ask questions, discuss issues affecting your community, and learn about the work done on Capitol Hill to represent you.
As part of our next generation of leaders, your experiences on Youth Tour can help you grow into the person that you want to be.
Connect!
On Youth Tour:
You will experience the excitement of Youth Tour alongside 1,800 other students from all over the country!
On Youth Tour, you can make new friendships with peers from across the nation. Lifelong friendships have sprung from the shared experience students have had while on Youth Tour.
As a Youth Tour student, you'll join a network of thousands of Youth Tour alumni whose ranks include figures like senators and CEOs. Your experience on Youth Tour opens you up to incredible networking connections, valuable experiences, and exclusive scholarships, as well as memories from an amazing, weeklong trip that you'll never forget!
To be eligible to participate in Youth Tour, a student must:
- Be a current high school junior
- Reside in a home powered by Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative
- Be available to travel to Washington, D.C. during the trip's date range (2025's trip takes place from Monday, June 16th to Saturday, June 21st)
- Be available for our preliminary Youth Tour meeting on Monday, February 24th after school hours
Applicants will be asked to complete an application form along with a short essay (the essay prompt can be found below). Applications must be signed by a parent or guardian.
Completed forms can be sent to us by mail to 64 County Route 639, Sussex, NJ 07461, or by email to craffay@sussexrec.com. At this point in time, we are no longer accepting applications for 2024's trip.
Essay Prompt (please include your one page essay alongside your Youth Tour application):
Youth Tour is a trip that, since the 1950s, has provided the opportunity for high school students from rural areas to explore and understand Washington, D.C., alongside hundreds of other students from across the country each year.
On Youth Tour, students get to see perspectives from beyond their own community and learn about the democratic process in Washington, D.C. Youth Tour students have the opportunity to make connections and potential lifelong friendships with peers from other parts of the country. After Youth Tour, alumni have access to exclusive scholarship opportunities. Many Youth Tour alumni credit the trip as a critical life moment for them that set them on their path to success in their education or career. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook has credited Youth Tour as his first experience visiting Washington, D.C.
Please write a one (1) page essay on the following topic:
Think about your own life, your role in your community, and what you want for yourself in the future. What does the prospect of a free trip to Washington, D.C. mean to you? What are you most interested in seeing and experiencing, and how would this experience help you in your life journey as you grow into a young adult?
Access the 2025 Youth Tour Application Here
Comments from 2023 Youth Tour Students
 2024 Youth Tour YLC Student High Point Regional High School
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"For the first couple of days it was a bit awkward being with so many strangers, but by the end of the trip I had met many people who I now consider friends and we still talk almost every day. There were over 1,500 students from all over the country that attended Youth Tour and we could all relate to being from rural communities but there was so much I learned from everyone from different parts of the country. Additionally, being able to talk to people in power about problems that affect rural communities and young Americans in general was an amazing moment that many people will never have the chance to do. Youth Tour opened so many doors for me such as scholarships, lasting connections, and the chance to represent my community. Being able to attend Youth Tour was a once in a lifetime event and I was truly grateful to be able to be a part of it." |
 2024 Youth Tour Student High Point Regional High School
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"Youth Tour was a trip that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I met so many awesome peers and friendly adults from across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and I learned so much. My favorite place we visited was the Udvar-Hazy Space Center. The sheer amount of aviation displayed was incredible. I also loved all of the memorials and monuments, especially the WWII Memorial and the Pentagon Memorial. I knew Youth Tour would be fun when I was given the opportunity to go on it, but I never expected it to be one of the best experiences I had ever had." |
 2024 Youth Tour Student Pope John XXIII Regional High School
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"What I took away from the trip to Youth Tour was that I was able to learn all about our nation’s capital and the rich history it has to offer for us all and to also learn and respect those who fought for our country. My favorite part of the trip was going to all the monuments and memorials and honoring those who helped to keep our privileges of freedom and who served and gave up their lives for this country. My experience from Youth Tour is something I will never forget and helped me grow as a person. Youth Tour helped me to be a more open person and to be more of an extroverted person, and led to me meeting new people and friends. Youth Tour also helped me learn more about our nation’s capital and the rich history it entails along with those who are there every day and have been there since the nation’s birth that keep it safe for all of us." |
 2023 Youth Tour Student High Point Regional High School |
“My favorite part about Youth Tour was meeting lots of new people from all over the country, touring D.C. and seeing all of the memorials and monuments, and listening to Claudia’s fun facts of the day! This trip was a great opportunity for me to learn about the electric cooperatives and how they work. It also allowed me to learn the history of our nation through the museums and many places we visited throughout the week.” |
 2023 Youth Tour Student Vernon Township High School |
“Some highlights for me were visiting the Pentagon Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier because they had a special, surreal feeling. There was an energy given that made me think back to the sacrifices that were made. It meant a lot to me to represent my state and gave me a feeling of pride. I will never forget the friends I made and the experiences that I went through.” |
 2023 Youth Tour Student Pope John XXIII Regional High School |
“My experience on Youth Tour was unforgettable and truly amazing. My favorite part was being able to meet people and make friends all across the country, because I had really only known people from New Jersey and a couple relatives from Pennsylvania. Getting to meet people from all over the country made me see how similar or different our lives were. I also enjoyed being able to see so many Washington D.C. monuments, memorials, and museums that brought attention to historic events and taught me more. I also enjoyed learning more about the positive effect of rural electric cooperatives across the country. This opportunity was so special because it made me a part of a group that I will always remember and will always be connected with.” |
For more details on 2023's trip...
"Youth Tour 2023 - A Chaperone's Perspective" - from Currents Vol. 1, Issue 3, 2023
During Youth Tour, you have the chance to be selected to represent your state on the NRECA Youth Leadership Council (YLC). One student from each state is selected and they will come back to Washington, D.C. in July for a leadership workshop which will focus on the electric cooperative industry.
The purpose of the YLC conference is to build leadership and public speaking skills, and to enhance the delegates’ knowledge of the energy industry and the cooperative form of business. These students will also make presentations at their statewide and local cooperative annual meetings.
Members of the YLC play an important role during NRECA’s Annual Meeting the following spring. Not only are the YLC members recognized on stage, they have a hands-on experience with virtually every facet of the meeting including the resolutions process and helping our members communicate with their legislators.
Youth Leadership Council members leave more poised and confident, as a better developed leader with a strong determination to improve their community and make their country a better place. Further, they leave having built life-long friendships with other student leaders from across the country and with skills and experience that put them ahead in their academic and professional pursuits.
As a Youth Tour student, you don't just get to go on the trip of a lifetime - you'll also gain access to exclusive scholarship opportunities that can help you on your journey through college! You are eligible to receive these scholarships for any year college, and they can be awarded for multiple years of your college career! The two exclusive Youth Tour scholarships are:
- The Jody Loudenslager Memorial Scholarship - Provided through the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association (PREA), each year it offers a total of two scholarships of $1,000 to Youth Tour alumni from Pennsylvania and New Jersey
- The Glenn English National Cooperative Leadership Foundation Scholarship - Provided through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), each year it offers a total of four $1,000 scholarships and one $10,000 scholarship to Youth Tour alumni across the country
Applications for these scholarships typically open up in the beginning of the year, and have application deadlines in early May. To learn more about these scholarships and others offered by Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative, visit our Scholarships page.