One of the Touchstone Energy principals is, “Commitment to Community”. As a response to that commitment, your Cooperative sends two area high school students to WashingtonD.C. each year in a project known as the “Youth to Washington Tour”.

Twenty three area high schools are invited to participate by encouraging their junior and senior students to write a one page essay on the subject, “Why I would like to visit Washington, D. C.”

Participating schools select the best essay written by their students and forward that essay to SouthEastern for evaluation by Cooperative staff.

The composers of the two best essays get to participate in a one week, expense paid tour to our Nation’s capital.

This year three high schools: HamiltonCounty, HardinCounty, and Zeigler-Royalton elected to participate.

Faculty at each of the three schools selected the best essay written by their students and forwarded it to Southeastern, where the essays were evaluated by our staff. Mackenzie Stunson from Hardin County and Kathleen J. Foster from Zeigler-Royalton were selected as the winners and all of their expenses to Washington, D.C. for the period June 11-18 will be paid by Southeastern. On April 21^st, these two students also attended the “Youth Day Program” at Springfield, Illinois, courtesy of the Cooperative.

As usual all of the essays were outstanding and we would like to share this year’s winning entries with you, so here they are:

How does one even begin to discuss all the reasons why taking a trip to WashingtonD.C. would be a chance of a lifetime? It’s the city where one can watch our nation’s leaders actually making the decisions that not only affect our own nation, but nations around the world. It’s a city that houses the National Headquarters of the number one law enforcement agency in the world, the FBI. And it is a city where there is an opportunity to visit inspiring monuments, places that surround you with a history of our nation’s traditions, its triumphs, and its tragedies.

Our federal government provides for a separation of powers, or three separate branches of government. Each has its own responsibilities but at the same time they work together to make the country run smoothly and ensure the rights of the citizens. While traveling to  Washington D.C. , one could see the Capitol building, where Congress, the legislative branch, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, make laws. Nearby is the White House, where the head of the executive branch, the President, makes sure laws are enforced. The Supreme Court, the third branch of government, is also located in Washington D.C. They decide court cases that challenge the Constitution. Nowhere but in Washington D.C. can one get a better show-and-tell lesson on our federal system of government.

Close by in Washington D. C. is the National Headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is of personal interest to me. My lifelong dream is to become an F.B.I. Special Agent and be involved in achieving some of the F.B.I.’s goals including preventing terrorism, combating foreign intelligence operations and espionage, and fighting blue-and white-collar crime. What a wonderful opportunity it would be for a small town girl to be able to visit the very heart of the most advanced law enforcement agency in the world.

Our country has always been one of tradition, which celebrates its triumphs, and remembers its tragedies. Nowhere but in Washington  D.C. can you visit memorials to all of these. From Constitution Avenue, home of the annual Cherry Blossom Parade to the steps of the Capitol building, where each new president is sworn in, Washington D.C. is ripe with tradition. From the Washington Monument, a tribute to the father of our country, to the home of our original Constitution, Washington D.C. proudly displays its greatest triumphs. But no country becomes or remains great without tragic sacrifice. In Washington D.C., one can and should visit the memorial to one of our country’s greatest tragedies, the Vietnam Memorial, so that we never forget.

It’s hard for me to imagine a city that can enlighten one more. Whether one is looking for a lesson in history, a lesson in government, or simply a lesson in one’s own personal career choice,  Washington D.C. has it. Whether one is looking for monuments to the things that have made this country great, or memorials to the things that have torn our country apart, Washington D.C.  has it. And I want to see it.

Washington D.C. is one of the greatest capitals in the entire world. My father has always wanted to take my family there but we have never had the opportunity. He has always talked about the sheer beauty of the buildings and the monuments that are located there. The museums, he says, were his favorite part. But, I would like to see for myself and decide what I like the most.

My father has told me about the beautiful cherry trees that line Pennsylvania Avenue. He said that the beauty of the trees first awes you and then as you travel farther down the street you come upon the awe-inspiring White House. The White House holds so much history. The building itself stands for so many things. It is a symbol of the people of  America as well as the Presidents that have lived there. It has housed every president since John Adams in 1800. The White House has survived two fires and many additions and renovations.  Seeing the White House in person would be such a privilege.

All of the monuments in Washington, D.C. serve as a memorial to the great people that founded our country and made it what it is today. I would be honored to see the Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson Memorials in person. I would love to take a picture while standing at the foot of the  Lincoln Memorial, the same place that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood when he was delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech.It would also be a great privilege to see the Vietnam Memorial.I admire the bravery and courage of all of those who gave their lives. 

The Arlington National Cemetery is another site that I would like to see. The grave of President John F. Kennedy is located there where the Eternal Flame marks it. He is buried near his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy who was also assassinated. 

There are many museums in Washington,  D.C. that I would love to visit. There is the Holocaust Memorial Museum that honors those that lost their lives during World War II. Also, I would like to see the many Smithsonian Museums including the Air and Space that house many interesting and exciting facts about science, art and history.

Touring Washington, D.C.would not only be education but it would be fun and exciting as well.  I would be forever grateful to get such an opportunity as this.  The buildings, monuments and museums all hold so much history.  Again, I cannot tell you how honored and grateful I would be to get to see our nation’s capital.