News > Youth Tour 2023: A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Youth Tour 2023: A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

July 28, 2023

Enjoy the following review of the 2023 Youth Tour from Stearns Electric student delegate, Travis Bellefeuille. Travis will also be a special guest at the 2024 Annual Meeting to give a brief report of his Youth Tour experience.

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I just want to start off by saying thank you for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity and giving me a chance to expand my horizon. With my time in Washington D.C. I learned about U.S. history that I didn’t know before, I was able to talk to and ask my senators questions about problems that were important to me, I learned more about electric Co-ops and about how they are trying to get electricity to small villages in other countries, and I was able to tour our nation’s capital and many other monuments which has been on my bucket list for years. Yes, all of that was fun and interesting, but my favorite part of the trip has to be the friendships I made. It seemed like most of us just clicked together like lego bricks and by the end of the first night we were all joking around and having fun. As we got further into the week our bond got stronger and the chaperones noticed this because one of them said “ it doesn’t seem like you guys just met a few days ago. It looks like you all have known each other for years.”

My second favorite part of the trip was when we visited the Capitol Building because this is where we met the Senators and Representatives, I was able to learn about the history of the Capitol Building that I never knew before, and we were able to go into the Senate and the House of Representatives which was a very cool experience.

This trip was full of firsts for me, like this was my first time to the Capitol Building, my first time meeting my Senators, my first time touring around all of the monuments we always hear about in school or on tv, and this was even my first time to Washington D.C.. A few of the monuments we went to were the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington monument, the Vietnam war Memorial, and the World War ll Memorial. As we moved further in the week, we took a ferry ride from Old Town Alexandria to the National Harbor in Maryland. When we docked we were able to walk around and explore the harbor. When we were at the White House we were able to talk to a few secret service members and get a feel on what their job was and how it worked. We capped off the week by going to the various Smithsonians Museums around the National Mall.

I will never forget this trip and it is because of all of you. Thank you again for making this trip possible, because it was a great experience that will never be forgotten.

Travis Bellefeuille
Swanville Public School – Class of 2024