Regan Van Overbeke, at right, poses at the Lincoln Memorial with new friends from across Colorado during the June 8-15 National Rural Electric Youth Tour in Washington, D.C.
Youth tour means new friends, memories for Van Overbeke
Early mornings, full days and new friends marked Regan Van Overbeke’s experience June 8-15 in Washington, D.C., at the National Rural Electric Youth Tour, sponsored by Highline Electric Association.
Van Overbeke earned the opportunity as the top applicant in the HEA district, with an essay that focused on the potential for wind kites to harness the power of atmospheric winds as a renewable energy source. She will be a senior at HHS this fall.
“It was really exciting to hear that I got it,” said Van Overbeke. “I don’t know if I can properly explain how appreciative I am of HEA and getting to go to this.”
Open to incoming juniors and seniors and those recently graduated from high school, student participation on the trip was a record-setting 1,804 students from across the nation. Colorado’s 32 qualifiers were grouped with those from Wisconsin, Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming and Washington for most D.C. activities.
“It was really cool to be with kids that were all leaders,” said Van Overbeke, noting that most of the new friends she met planned to pursue careers in either medicine or engineering — including Van Overbeke, who hopes to be either a mechanical or civil engineer one day.
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