Youth Tour is open to students enrolled in the 11th grade in our service territory. The schools include Arnett, Buffalo, Fargo-Gage, Ft. Supply, Laverne, Mooreland, Seiling, Sharon-Mutual, Shattuck, Taloga, Vici and Woodward.

NOTE: students do not need to live in a household served by NWEC to qualify. ALL high school juniors from the schools listed above qualify.

The top two prizes are all-expenses-paid trips to Washington, D.C. Also up for grabs are two $1,000 scholarships to be used at the college or trade school of the winner’s choice upon enrollment. The top four finalist will also each receive a $250 cash prize.

The Washington, D.C. trip usually occurs in mid-June. The thrill packed days include a visit with the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation, tour of Mount Vernon, a boat trip on the Potomac River, and all the major monuments. Students will make connections with around 70 fellow Oklahoma attendees, along with students from across the U.S. Attendees leave with contacts in the cooperative and legislative fields across the nation, and have doors opened for more scholarships and opportunities down the line.

The dates for Youth Tour 2026 are set for June 13-19.

Northwestern Electric selects the winners of the contest from students who submit a minimum of a 600-word essay and separate project marketing plan.

Essay – The essay topic is: If you were given $500 to create a project for your community what would it be and why? Consider who/what the project would benefit, why it is important to you and/or the community, how would you accomplish your project goal from start to finish, how the funds would be used, etc.

Marketing Plan – For a project to succeed, people need to know about it! For this portion you may choose to create a 1.) Video, 2.) Flyer, 3.) Set of proposed social media posts (at least two posts). Please also include a brief explanation of why you believe this form of promotion will be successful in spreading the word about your project.

The deadline to apply is Tuesday January 6, 2026.

From the overall scores the top four students are selected for a final judging - those students will be contacted by Jan. 20th.

The final judging will be a presentation of their final community project digitally (i.e. PowerPoint, Canva, Google Slides, etc.) to a panel of three judges, followed by a brief interview and banquet. The Final Four Banquet is set for Tuesday February 3rd, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. at the co-op headquarters – 2925 Williams Ave., Woodward, OK 73801. 

All four finalists will receive a $250 cash prize. The top two winners have the choice of either the Youth Tour Leadership Conference trip to Washington D.C., or a $1,000 scholarship. The next two winners receive the remaining prizes. The Youth Tour Leadership Conference is June 13-19, 2026.

If for any reason a student would not have access to proper Wi-Fi or devices in order to complete their application or the interview process, please contact the Cooperative and we will make arrangements to assist the student.

Applications can be completed by filling out the form above. For more information, contact your Youth Tour Coordinator, Lyndsey Harvey, at 580-256-7425 or nwec@nwecok.org.