Do you know a high school student who should represent Flathead Electric Cooperative in June 2025?
Each year, Flathead Electric Cooperative has the opportunity to use unclaimed capital credits to sponsor educational (and super fun!) trips to Washington, D.C., for up to three outstanding high school students. This event is called Youth Tour, and members of the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association join from around the country to send their area’s best and brightest for a weeklong tour of the nation’s capital.
Your Co-op selected Flathead High School’s Mikaela Mayne (daughter of Jennifer Mayne and Michael Mayne), Glacier High School’s Anitha Ravipati (daughter of Ramesh Ravipati and Ramya Ravipati) and Bigfork High School’s Gabrielle Thorsen (daughter of Eric and Cyndy Thorsen) to represent Northwest Montana at Youth Tour 2024. Montana’s electric cooperatives sent 32 students from 18 co-ops. In total, there were over 1,600 participants from 44 states.
Bigfork senior Gabrielle Thorsen is at the top of her class, holding a 4.0 GPA her junior year. A Bigfork native, Thorsen is deeply involved in her small community but has big vision, as befits the daughter of the owners of the Kalispell Art Foundry, a local business serving artists around the world.
A multi-faceted young woman, Thorsen is a member of the National Honor Society, an active 4-H participant, and holds the distinction of being one of the first female Eagle Scouts in the United States. Prior to Youth Tour Thorsen’s life had centered around the Flathead Valley.
“I had never traveled by myself or been on an airplane before I went to D.C.,” Thorsen shares, “and I was nervous to apply. But my mom had gotten an email from the Co-op about Youth Tour, and she and my dad really encouraged me.”
Thorsen noted that prior to applying for Youth Tour, she hadn’t known her family receives electricity from a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative, as opposed to an investor or independently owned utility. “Learning about the cooperative business model was really eye opening for me,” she reflected.
“I love the co-op’s commitment to education, which is what Youth Tour is all about — education about cooperatives and their involvement in our nation’s history, then and now.”
Thorsen and her cohorts met with Montana’s congressional delegation, toured many of our national museums and landmarks, and attended a dance held to introduce Youth Tour participants from around the United States to one another. “We met with Senator Tester for about a half hour, and great staff members from Senator Daines, Representative Rosendale and Representative Zinke’s offices. That was cool, meeting Montana’s leaders,” said Thorsen. “My favorite parts of Youth Tour were touring the Gettysburg battlefield and visiting the Holocaust Museum. Both sites were very impactful to me. It was just an incredible week – I learned so much and had so much fun making new friends. I want to go back!”
Check out our Youth Programs & Scholarships page to learn more about the Youth Tour!
