Five local high school students were recently selected to receive a trip to Washington, D.C., sponsored by Dakota Electric Association. The winners are Myah Bauman (11th), Rosemount High School; Daniel Crippes (11th), Apple Valley High School; Justin Geertsema (11th), Lakeville South High School; Ritisha Senapati (11th), Eastview High School; and Christopher Torres (12th), Farmington High School. Courtney Zinter (11th), Lakeville North High School was selected as an alternate.
The annual Washington D.C. Youth Tour is typically scheduled for a week in June by the National Rural Electric Association’s (NRECA), where more than 1,800 students from around the nation travel to our country’s capital. Due to COVID-19, this year’s trip has been cancelled. However, Dakota Electric still wanted to honor the students and has offered them a choice of going on the trip next year or receiving a $1,000 scholarship for college.
Baumen, Crippes and Geertsema have opted to go on the trip next year, while Senapati, Torres and Zinter will each receive a $1,000 scholarship.
“We were sad for our students who won this year, since the trip was cancelled,” Peggy Johnson, Dakota Electric’s community relations director, said. “We were glad we could provide options for the students, and they could decide what would be best for each of them.”
Each January, Dakota Electric makes applications available for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to apply for the Youth Tour program. Students wanting more information can find it here or email: [email protected].
