U.S. Sen. Tim Scott meets with S.C. students at the U.S. Capitol
Fifty-seven high school students from across South Carolina spent part of their summer touring our nation's capital courtesy of their local electric cooperatives.
The students were selected by their co-ops to be part of the Washington Youth Tour—a week-long tour of Washington, D.C., where students tour museums and monuments, meet with lawmakers and make friends with more than 1,800 other high schoolers from around the country.
"Thank you for allowing me to go on this mind-blowing trip," said Mason Durant, a rising high school senior representing Black River Electric Cooperative in Sumter. "Please continue to do these amazing trips."
"It was an experience that I will cherish for a long time," said Jienghuo Caimoso, a rising high school senior representing Horry Electric Cooperative. "Meeting people from all over the country was one of the highlights of the trip."
The Washington Youth Tour was inspired by Sen. Lyndon Johnson when he addressed a national gathering of electric co-op leaders in 1957. The senator and future president said, "If one thing comes out of this meeting, it will be sending youngsters to the national capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents."
South Carolina co-ops began sending students to Washington, D.C., in 1968 and continue the tradition each June.
View photos from the 2024 Washington Youth Tour here.
