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View pictures of the 2011 Youth Tour trip.
Each summer, GVEC sends four deserving students to Washington, D.C. as part of the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. While in D.C., the students get the opportunity to visit many of the nation’s exciting museums, memorable landmarks, breathtaking memorials and meet other great students from around Texas and the United States—ALL FOR FREE!
The contest and trip are part of the national Electric Cooperative Youth Tour hosted each year by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Electric cooperatives from across the country sponsor students from their respective service territories to attend this exciting event each year.
Students will spend an entire week in Washington, D.C. experiencing all the capital has to offer. Students on the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour will get exclusive access into many of the museums, historical sites, memorials, and then even get to meet their local congressional leader on their trip to Capitol Hill.
Eligibility
- Parent(s) or primary guardian must have an active GVEC electric account.
- Student must be a 2012-2013 high school sophomore, junior, or senior.
- Children of GVEC employees or directors are not eligible to apply.
- Previous Youth Tour winners are not eligible to apply.
We encourage our cooperative youth to get involved with the Youth Tour! Although the application process can change from year to year, below is an example of the 2012 requirements.
Requirements
Click here for Official Contest Rules and the online application to enter.
General Information
Students must complete the online application and upload a 1 to 3 minute video on one of the topics listed below. Incomplete entries will not be considered.
Option 1: Teach your parents a lesson … about saving energy at home.
Your parents are pretty smart, but how much do they know about being more energy efficient at home? Imagine you have to use your allowance to pay the family’s electric bill and you can hear “cha-ching” all day long as energy is being wasted all around your home. You realize you need to teach your parents a thing or two about energy efficiency at home. So go for it – create a 1 to 3 minute video that shows your parents how to be more energy efficient at home.
Option 2: Put your principal through school – show your principal how your campus can be more energy efficient.
Think about it. Computers in the lab, microwaves in the cafeteria, lights in the classrooms, hot water in the bathrooms, and air conditioning in the gym (or is that one wishful thinking?) … your school spends a lot of money on electricity before, during and after hours. Now imagine your principal has put you in charge of finding ways to make your school campus more energy efficient—any money you save will go towards building a new wing with your name on it. What energy efficiency ideas would you suggest? You have full rein when it comes to the students, teachers, and building. The only thing you can’t do is suspend school altogether. So, go for it—create a 1 to 3 minute video that educates your friends, teachers and the principal on how to be more energy efficient at school.
Judging Criteria/Guidelines:
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Videos will be judged on overall creativity, peer appeal, message clarity, and information accuracy.
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Videos must contain the GVEC or Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative name.
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Video cannot contain copyrighted music without written permission from the copyright holder.
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Only one video submission per applicant.
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Any submission that includes content that is deemed inappropriate by GVEC will not be eligible.
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Videos must be submitted in one of the following formats:
- Quicktime (.mov)
- Windows media (.wmv)
- H.264 (.mp4)
- Audio Video Interleave (.avi)
Winner Selection Process:
- A panel of GVEC staff will judge entries.
- Ten semifinalists will be chosen by February 15, 2012 and notified by a cooperative employee via phone.
- Semifinalists will be asked to interview with the judging panel about their submissions.
- The final four winners will be selected by March 1, 2012 and notified via phone. Winners must be willing to make statements by audio and/or video for future Youth Tour promotions if asked.
Completed entries must be received by Wednesday, February 1, 2012 by 11:59 p.m. CST.
For more information, contact the GVEC Public Relations staff at 1.800.223.GVEC (4832) or youthtour@gvec.org.
