Youth Tour in D.C.

Imagine spending a week exploring Washington, D.C. — with all expenses paid. For Kansas high school students who live in our service territory, that opportunity can become a reality through the annual Electric Cooperative Youth Tour.

We've proudly participated in this program since 2014, which marked the program’s 50th anniversary. Each year, our trustees select two high school juniors to travel to D.C. to learn firsthand about our nation’s government and the important role rural electric cooperatives play across our country.

Students representing Wheatland Electric join more than 35 Kansas peers on a leadership-focused journey that begins in Topeka, where they explore state government and meet elected officials. The trip then continues to Washington, D.C., where students meet with Kansas’s congressional delegation, including U.S. senators and members of Congress. Educational highlights include visits to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and Arlington National Cemetery. The experience also leaves room for fun, with time to explore Smithsonian museums and attend a performance at the Kennedy Center.

Hear from students Sophia Wedel and Kamryn Meyer as they share their experiences traveling to Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2025 — and why the trip truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Colorado Leadership Camp

Each July, we join electric cooperatives from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming to send nearly 100 students to Glen Eden Resort, just north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for the Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp.

This educational and fun-filled experience gives high school students the opportunity to learn how cooperatives work, tour a power generation facility, explore government and public policy, and strengthen communication and leadership skills. Participants enjoy a wide range of hands-on activities and experiences, including:

• Visit Lookout Mountain
• Form and operate a cooperative
• Take part in a legislative forum
• Compete in the “Build a Transmission Line” challenge
• Visit Steamboat Springs and Fish Creek Falls
• Attend a high-voltage demonstration
• Go rafting on the Colorado River
• Participate in leadership workshops and a live HawkQuest presentation
• Play in a volleyball tournament
• Attend the camp dance and talent show
• Tour Trapper Coal Mine and Craig Generation Plant
• Visit Mount Werner for the closing banquet and ambassador voting

The Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp is more than just a camp — it’s an experience that builds confidence, creates lifelong friendships, and develops leadership skills students will carry with them for years to come.