2025 WASHINGTON YOUTH TOUR
Once a year, local high school students are selected by Sumter EMC to represent our cooperative and state as delegates on the Washington Youth Tour. This top-notch leadership experience and tour of Washington, D.C., includes meetings with state and national leaders, leadership training, and visits to all the major sights. Participants join over 1,500 other students from around the nation—all expenses paid—for one incredible week in our nation's capital.
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to all sophomores, juniors, and seniors who will be sixteen by June 13, 2025, and live in or attend a school in Marion, Schley, Sumter, Webster, Lee, Terrell, Chattahoochee or Stewart County. Students not residing in or attending a school in the above counties are eligible if their parents are members of Sumter EMC and live within the cooperative's service area. The cooperative's service area is Marion, Schley, Sumter, Webster, Dougherty, Lee, Randolph, Terrell, Chattahoochee, Quitman, and Stewart counties.
- Be a sophomore, junior, or senior in good standing with your school.
- The applicant must be 16 years of age by June 13, 2025.
- Must have parent's consent.
To learn more about the Washington Youth Tour, contact Tonya Jones at 229-924-8041, ext. 2210 or tonya.jones@sumteremc.com.
2025 CONTEST SCHEDULE
- Application deadline: January 22, 2025
- Teacher recommendation deadline: January 22, 2025
- Interviews for highest scoring individuals: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 beginning at 9 AM
- Trip dates: June 13-20, 2025
2025 CONTEST RULES
Please read the following information carefully before completing the application. You may open the application and review the information needed, but please know it must be completed before closing or submitting. If the application is closed before completing, you will be able to start over, but will have lost all information. The application must include the following information:
- Personal Information
- Parent/Guardian Information
- School Information
- Non-weighted GPA
- Interest and Hobbies
- Upload a clear head shot
- You will answer the following questions using 300 words or less for each:
- Why do you think Sumter EMC should choose you as one of their 2025 Washington Youth Tour delegates?
- Tell us the one place you would like to visit most in Washington, DC and why you chose it.
- When traveling on this trip, you will have to room with one other person. If your roommate is totally opposite of you...you are tidy and they are messy...you are quiet and they are loud...how will you handle the week?
- Can you describe a time when you worked with a group of people you had never met before? How did you approach building relationships and collaborating effectively with them, and what did you learn from that experience?
- If you could spend one day with a current or past leader, who would you choose and why?
Your application will be scored by WYT coordinators from across the state, and the highest-scoring students will be invited to participate in the interview process. Those finalists will be sent the Washington Youth Tour Study Guide on which students will take a quiz at 9 AM on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. After the quiz, students will draw numbers for the order of their interview. The interview will be judged on personality, communication ability, appearance and poise, leadership qualities, and goals. Dress for the interview as if you were attending a job interview .
You also must have two teachers or counselors complete the teacher recommendation form by January 22, 2025.
Based on an average score from the application, quiz, and interview, four students will be selected to experience an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., June 13-20, 2025.
Links for the 2025 Washington Youth Tour Application and Teacher Recommendation Form:
2025 WYT Teacher Recommendation
View "An Unforgettable Week" on YouTube.