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2023 Youth Tour Recap

Posted: August 1, 2023

A Snapshot from the Trip of a Lifetime to Washington D.C.

MEC’s Youth Tour winner, Lanie Crabb, of Superior High School stands in front of a U.S. Marine Corp. memorial to commemorate her Grandfather, who she wrote her essay about.

Annual Youth Tour essay winners are invited to take part in a one-week, all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. Here, they join more than 1,500 students from across the U.S. to explore museums, memorials, and monuments and rub elbows with U.S. Representatives and Senators, all while learning about the history of rural electrification and its value to our communities.

MEC’s 2023 Youth Tour winner, Lanie Crabb, of Superior High School (pictured) landed in D.C. on June 17 and enjoyed a jam-packed week!

Youth Tour Experiences

Day 1:
Visits to the National Archives, the National Zoo and the Spy Museum. The busy day was topped off with a Co-op 101 class.

Day 2:
Visits to the Pentagon, the Air Force memorial, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and the grounds of Mount Vernon. The day concluded with a peaceful boat cruise on the Potomac.

Day 3:
Monuments, Museums and the Naval Academy… oh my! The night ended on the ball fields at a Nationals game.

Day 4:
A memorable day spent meeting Montana State Legislators on Capitol Hill followed by a tour of Arlington Cemetery.

Day 5:
Students toured the Gettysburg Battlefield, visited more monuments and enjoyed dinner at world-famous Ben’s Chili Bowl.

Q&A with Lanie Crabb

  1. What was your favorite part of the 2023 Youth Tour? “My favorite part of the 2023 Youth Tour was getting to see some of our nation’s most important monuments and making new friendships along the way.”
  2. What would you say to a student that is on the fence about submitting an essay for the 2024 Youth Tour? “To a student who is on the fence about applying, I would say: Go for it! You have nothing to lose by submitting an essay. Youth Tour is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it is well worth your time to write an essay to try and win.” 
  3. Was anything different than you expected during the trip? “I did not expect to meet as many people as I did! I met people from our state, as well as many other states from across the country. As far as sightseeing goes, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of sights we were able to visit in the amount of time we were there. I did not expect that we would have very little downtime, but I’m sure glad we didn’t!”
  4. What was a key takeaway from the experience? “One of my main takeaways from this experience is that the world is SO much bigger than just Montana and our surrounding states. There are so many people and places that are monumentally different from what we see in our daily lives.” 
  5. Anything else you’d want to share with our members about Youth Tour? “To any rural Montana electric students, do yourself a favor and apply for Youth Tour! This experience is one of a kind, and it is a great opportunity to meet fellow Montanans, as well as broaden your view on our country’s diversity and magnitude!”