Miss Ciara Nelson, a student at Wagner Community School from Lake Andes, has had a whirlwind of a summer vacation. After being chosen by the Charles Mix Electric Association to attend the National Rural Electric Youth Tour, she spent a week in Washington, DC in June. While attending the tour, she was chosen to represent South Dakota as a member of the Youth Leadership Council (YLC), and returned to Washington in July.

Of the 1,800+ students that attend the Youth Tour, only one student from each state is chosen to become part of the YLC. Those students must demonstrate the desire to build their leadership skills, while delving more deeply into the role of the rural electric co-op in the energy industry. It is a very prestigious honor for both the student and for the co-op they represent to be selected. Ciara admits that before attending the Youth Tour, she had no idea what a rural electric co-op such as Charles Mix Electric was all about, other than a vague knowledge of an annual meeting for its members, and a basic sense of what a power lineman does. Now, she is an informed future potential member and leader who understands the needs that co-ops fulfill, as well as the challenges they face, in providing the power people use every day.

Ciara notes that the YLC differed from the Youth Tour in that it focused more upon the business and political aspects of rural electric cooperatives. Attendees were also given much information on how to prepare themselves if they chose to pursue a career within a co-op. They learned about opportunities involving the financial, managerial, and engineering aspects of an electric utility as well as the more well-known lineworker position.

Ciara’s public-speaking skills will get quite a workout over the next few months, as each YLC member is asked to prepare a 5-7 minute speech about how the Youth Tour inspired them. She will present this speech at the Charles Mix Electric annual meeting in October, and also at the state-wide annual meeting in Pierre this coming January. Ciara will also attend the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s annual meeting in New Orleans in 2020, where she will represent SD by bearing our state flag in the meeting’s opening ceremonies. While there, she will also work behind-the-scenes wherever needed to make sure the week-long meeting runs smoothly.

Ciara earned the right to attend the Youth Tour by competing in an annual contest sponsored by Charles Mix Electric and supported by her local school. She is the daughter of Mark and Laura Nelson of rural Lake Andes. She says, “Going on the Youth Tour was one of the best decisions of my life.” The experience provided tremendous personal growth and self-awareness for a young 16-year-old from a small-town background, as she learned to face and overcome many personal anxieties and fears. A fear of air travel, of not knowing what to expect, and of spending a week with strangers and possibly not fitting in were quickly replaced with personal strength, increased self-confidence, and the knowledge that she could handle any challenge she faced. In her own words, “let us take risks, because we don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we can always do our best to make it exceptional.”