Each June, students are immersed in a one of-a-kind experience in Washington, D.C., through the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. Roughrider Electric Cooperative chose one local applicant to represent the cooperative on the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. Applicants are asked to answer the essay question: “As member owned organizations, electric cooperatives are always seeking new ways to engage their members. What are some ways electric cooperatives can better communicate and connect, especially with students and young adults?”
Roughrider Electric is proud to announce that Cora Karges, daughter of Daryn and Sarah Karges, will be representing Roughrider Electric on the exciting week-long trip. Cora is a sophomore at Hazen High School and is active in One Act play and is on the speech team.
"I want to travel when done with high school,” says Cora. “I thought this is a good opportunity to start."
She is looking forward to seeing new places and meeting new people.
Cora and other North Dakota electric cooperative representatives will take off in June. You can follow Cora’s journey by following Roughrider Electric on Facebook and Instagram.
Cora’s essay:
Several ways community-owned electric cooperatives such as Roughrider Electric can reach out to teens and young adults are by going to schools to give presentations about what people working for electric cooperatives do, hosting tours at facilities and hosting outdoor field trips. Most teens and young adults do not understand the process of having electricity brought to their homes and do not know the role electric cooperatives play in their lives.
Schools are where most preteens and teens are most of the time, and most teens do not like to sit at a desk all day. When we are given the opportunity to go on a field trip or participate in a hands-on learning experience, we are more attentive and openminded. Electric cooperatives could go to schools and give presentations. They could talk about how they measure electricity and bring it into our homes and what the different job opportunities are. They could also talk about all the different things that fall under the jurisdiction of electric cooperatives. They could explain that electric cooperatives are member-owned and how members can be involved in the cooperative. Teaching about dividends at an early age could be very beneficial as young adults become independent.
Electric cooperatives could host field trips where students are allowed to go out and watch some of the interesting aspects of being a lineworker. They could also host tours of the different machinery used to build power lines. Another way that electric cooperatives could also create interest is by visiting elementary schools and providing tours and field trips. Younger kids have more enthusiasm for large equipment and fun projects.
Social medial accounts would, however, not be very successful at reaching out to young adults and teens. The reason for this is because there are not very many teens that would follow or watch social media accounts that do not interest them. There are some better ways to garner interest, but social media accounts would fail because of the lack of content relevant to a teen’s social life.