Sentimental Journey

She had to put it into words. The experience had left an immediate and indelible impression.

“The Rural Electric Youth Tour opened many eyes, helped to set new goals and changed our lives,” she wrote back in 1988. “I wonder whether the rural electric cooperatives truly realize the impact that this tour has had on all our lives.”

Freshly returned from seeing Washington, D.C., for the first time, 17-year-old D’Arla Tyler (then D’Arla Glenn) penned that paragraph in a report following her Government-In-Action Youth Tour.

The cheerleader, yearbook editor and aspiring journalist had been selected earlier as Johnson County Electric Cooperative’s representative. That summer, she joined 69 other students in the Texas cohort to experience the nation’s capital right before her senior year at Grandview High School.

Traveling 1,350 miles by bus from Lewisville to Washington, Tyler recalled the immediate friendships built on that long ride, the strong feeling of patriotism that Youth Tour kindled, and even how the experience helped cement her future plans for higher education.

Now the director of public relations & client services at Kwedar & Co. in Fort Worth, Tyler said the experience inspired her as a former television news reporter to tell the stories of people who affect impactful decisions in government. After graduating high school in 1989, she’d earn a broadcast journalism degree from the University of North Texas.

“At that time, I already was interested in journalism, and so I’m sure the trip just solidified my decision that that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. “I did end up with a minor in politics, and so, perhaps that came from that trip.”

A Capital Experience

They call it “the trip of a lifetime.” And it’s not just a slogan.

Time and time again, students sent by United Cooperative Services to experience the Youth Tour have come home claiming the catchphrase as their own.

Last year, electric cooperatives across the country sent more than 1,650 students on the weeklong trip that delves into the museums, memorials and exhibits Washington has to offer. Texas co-ops sent 147 students, making up almost 10 percent of the total alone, said TEC Youth Tour Coordinator Esther Dominguez.

“Each Youth Tour is an experience of its own,” she said. “At the end, the magic of the trip unfolds, and you can only experience that by attending as a participant or a chaperone. I enjoy working with young teens. I hope they will embrace the history and knowledge about the political process, American history and understand the value of rural electric cooperatives and the energy industry.”

United caught up with four former Youth Tour students from three different decades to ask them how Youth Tour impacted their lives. By leaving their comfort zones and families behind, all reported gaining a deeper understanding of their country, their co-op, and maybe even themselves.

Totally Rad Trip: 1988

She probably heard about Youth Tour at school, though she doesn’t remember for sure. Tyler remembered entering lots of writing contests at the time, though, and most probably the opportunity to visit the nation’s capital captivated her, prompting her to enter.

Youth Tour was the first time for Tyler to leave her mom and dad and travel to Washington with a group of students she didn’t know. Students traveled three days by bus rather than by plane, she said, and the group departed from a Holiday Inn in Lewisville. While long, the bus ride cemented the group in friendship.

“I loved the bus, because that’s when we really got to know each other and have fun,” she said. “So, the first night, we stayed in Arkansas, and then the next night was in Tennessee, and we did a few things in Tennessee while we were there. They did a good job of breaking it up and giving us things to do.”

The bus finally rumbled into the nation’s capital on the third day and made its way through the crowded streets and avenues inside the Beltway. As soon as they had arrived, Tyler said, the trip was a real eye-opener.

“It was definitely different from any other place in Texas,” she said. “I had just a real sense of, I think, patriotism. I loved the history. I was really impressed by the vibe. It left me with a very patriotic feeling.”

Tyler remembered the awe of visiting the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. She was wowed by the history of Mount Vernon, and deeply moved not only by the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but also by the panels of names etched into stone at the Vietnam War Memorial.

While she never caught a glimpse of President Reagan during the White House Tour as she had hoped, she did get to meet and take photos with Congressman Joe Barton on the steps of the Capitol.

“I think it’s so important, especially as a young person, to try new things and have new experiences,” she said. “It’s important to step outside of your comfort zone, because you never know where an experience like that will lead. One advantage I think kids have today is the friendships they make while they’re there on Youth Tour. Today, they have the advantage of social media to be able to keep up with everybody. We didn’t have that.”

Family Matters: 1993 and 1995

He wanted to enter as soon as he was eligible in case he wasn’t chosen for Youth Tour right away. His sister, Amy, had gone two years before, and it had taken her several attempts. Despite the competitive selection process, he had made the cut on his first try. Mark McClure, now the assistant superintendent of student services for Cleburne Independent School District, boarded a Youth Tour bus before his junior year at Cleburne High School.

“I can remember being excited, but honestly scared to death,” he said. “I had probably only spent a night or two away from home at the time, so loading up on a charter bus for a two-week trip was a little scary, but proved to be worth it.”  

Mark said the experience left him impressed with the strength of the U.S. government, and how it, like the many monuments he toured, has stood the test of time, much like the fundamentals of American government. He said he enjoyed talking with Congressman Pete Geren about electric co-ops and the agriculture industry as he explained how he helped influence legislation to protect and support both business sectors.   

Not only did the trip give him a behind-the-scenes experience that tourists rarely get, Mark said the trip pushed him out of his comfort zone. As he discussed life paths with various representatives and their interns, he said it sparked his desire to continue learning, growing and climbing the ladder in his own life path.

“This trip influenced me in my career,” he said. “I wanted to continue to move up the ladder, which was hard. I loved teaching but knew that solid leaders were needed, and my sphere of influence would go from 100 kids to 7,000 currently. It gave me a passion to be a lifelong learner and always have a growth mindset.”       

His older sister, Amy, had traveled to Washington for Youth Tour in ’93. Bill Clinton had just been sworn into office that year, and she said she remembered wishing she could have voted during the ’92 election.

Amy said she always knew she wanted to go to law school, so each opportunity was a stepping-stone to that end goal. Now an attorney  at DLA Piper law firm in Houston, Amy said she remembers touring the Supreme Court and attending a lecture on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C.

Perhaps touring the J. Edgar Hoover Building made the biggest impression, though. After attaining her law degree, Amy said she applied to become a special agent with the FBI. Though she passed several rounds of testing, her bureau ambitions were stymied by a years-long hiring freeze.

“This was my third and final opportunity to attend the Youth Tour, as I had been passed over two other years,” she said. “I enjoyed seeing history come to life and things I had only read about or seen on TV.

“Don’t think about it, run to apply. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. Grab every opportunity that comes your way with both hands and have zero regrets.”

Millennial Pilgrimage: 2003

Jake Cormack wanted to see the world. “Just go,” he said. Somewhere. Anywhere.

As a 16-year-old growing up on a ranch in Palo Pinto County, Cormack said he had a passion for reading, meeting new people and an unquenchable wanderlust at the time.

“I was a huge reader because we didn’t have TV growing up,” he said. “So, I read all the time. I love reading and writing, politics, everything about world history, different cultures and ways of life. It’s always been, and still, is very interesting to me, something I enjoy.”

Any school trips that offered an opportunity to travel, Cormack said he’d apply. He’d gone to Europe the summer before through a similar “mock United Nations” program, he said, and a chance to see Washington sounded like a perfect follow-up trip.

“My mom let me know about Youth Tour,” he said. “She was the principal at Strawn ISD, and so she was always looking at different programs. We were members, and she’s the one who told me to apply, and I did. It was something I was interested in.”

While not “Texas” hot, he said, he was surprised at the amount of water he and others had to drink as the group toured monuments and buildings around Washington. The Jefferson Memorial stood large in his memory, he said, and he still talks with his friends about his Smithsonian experience to this day.

One of the highlights for Cormack was walking through the Capitol, seeing Congress in action and meeting his representative, Charlie Stenholm.

This sparked more interest in America’s political system, he said, and perhaps inspired the trajectory of his college degree.

“When you come from the middle of nowhere—a cattle ranch, a six-man school—you don’t see much,” he said. “Going to Fort Worth was a rare and giant thing. And then to go to D.C. and meet a very well respected, powerful individual like that from your area, it really brings you more in touch with that being a possibility. Being something along those lines becomes real, I guess.”

For the time being, Cormack has put politics on hold. Now United’s internet outside plant coordinator for the western portion of the co-op’s service territory, he chuckled at the irony of coming back to work at the electric cooperative that sent him on Youth Tour 21 years earlier.

“I’d tell anyone Youth Tour is definitely something you should do,” Cormack said. “You don’t know what you like at that age. You haven’t had those experiences. This is a great way to see some new things and have some experiences that can influence you for the rest of your life in one way or the other. It will help you get to know yourself better.”

This year’s Youth Tour runs June 15-22. Applications are due by Feb. 28. Winners will be notified on March 3. For more information, visit www.ucs.net/youth-tour.