Senior Nili Nourparvar Honored for
Youth
Leadership
Pictured above from left to right:
Gale
Cutler, Georgia Youth Tour Director; Nili Nourparvar;
Kyle Zebley, Senior Advisor to Congressman
Tom Price;
and Lindsey Bridges, Georgia Youth Tour Director
This group photo of the Georgia Youth Tour
delegates
includes Nili standing to the left of
Senator Saxby Chambliss.
Responsibility, reverence, and sacrifice
were a few of the words that surfaced repeatedly during a recent youth
leadership trip to Washington, D.C, sponsored by Sawnee EMC. The nation’s
Capital served as a temporary “home” for Nili Nourparvar, Centennial Senior,
this summer. Only two deserving delegates were chosen by Sawnee EMC, through an
application and interview process, to represent the cooperative June 12th –
19th on the nationally recognized Washington Youth Tour. They joined 107 high
school students from across Georgia in this national program to learn
leadership skills, the need for civic involvement, and to immerse themselves in
the culture and history of the United States.
“The students come away with an
understanding of the challenges facing our entire nation, and they gain new
insight to the vision, leadership and sacrifice required to build a better life
for themselves, their families and their communities,” says Cindy Badgett with
Sawnee EMC.
According to Georgia Youth Tour Director
Gale Cutler, the purpose of the Youth Tour is to help EMCs promote stronger
communities and a stronger nation, by giving as many young people as possible
the ability and desire to make meaningful, lifelong contributions. Another key
component is to teach students to appreciate diverse points of view and accept
different social, racial and cultural backgrounds.
Various aspects of the trip, combined with
visits to museums, monuments and other historic sites, provided a unique lesson
not duplicated in any classroom. Delegates noted with reverence the service and
sacrifice of men and women who served the country. Others pointed to historical
documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights which
left them awed and inspired. Still others remarked that pictures, textbooks and
in-class discussions could not adequately convey key periods in history such as
the Holocaust and how the tragedy became real for them after time spent at the
Holocaust Museum.
“This trip allowed me to experience
everything I learned in class, but also be able to truly absorb the countries
past,” stated Nili
Nourparvar, Sawnee EMC delegate.
According to Cutler, it is common for
student ideas and opinions to change following the experience. In fact,
following the trip, some students return to consider internships at the
Capitol, careers in public service and to reassess their future plans.
Georgia delegates from 2014 plan to pursue
degrees in diverse fields such as pastoral studies, medicine, business
management, sports broadcasting, political science, computer engineering,
biology, chemistry and criminal justice, among others. The Georgia delegation
joined approximately 1,600 of their talented and ambitious peers and 300
chaperones from 43 other states.
“We think it’s important to emphasize to
the next generation, particularly at this critical time in their lives, that
standing up for what you believe in is a real test of courage and conviction,”
says Cindy Badgett.
This year marked Georgia’s biggest group
ever - 109 students and 16 chaperones sent by 38 of the EMCs in Georgia. The
event kicked off with a banquet in Atlanta, emceed by Fox 5 Atlanta’s Beth
Galvin, who happens to be an alumnus of the Washington Youth Tour. The group
toured the FDR Little White House in Warm Springs, GA before flying to
Washington, D.C.
Other highlights included stops at
Arlington Cemetery, as well as the Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, MLK, WWII, Vietnam
and Korean War memorials. The group also toured the U.S. Capitol, viewed the
Declaration of Independence, and visited the Supreme Court, the Library of
Congress and the Smithsonian museums.
The students gained perspective on some of
today’s important issues and their role as involved citizens during discussions
with staff and/ or members of Georgia's congressional delegation, including
personal visits and photos with Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson and
U.S. Representatives Lynn Westmoreland, Rob Woodall, Austin Scott, Doug
Collins, Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey and John Barrow.
Finally, all the state groups convened for
National Youth Day, sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assoc.
to learn from public figures and other inspirational speakers, including Jo Ann
Emerson, NRECA’s chief executive officer.
For nearly 50 years, more than 50,000
young citizens have traveled to Washington with the help of their electric
cooperative.
(Taken from Sawnee EMC press release)
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