From Tennessee to the National Spotlight: VEC Youth Tour Highlights
The Washington Youth Tour has always been known for its monuments, museums, and history lessons, but for the students who attend, it becomes much bigger. It’s a week where possibility feels close enough to touch. Where leadership stops being an abstract idea and becomes something, they practice, feel, and carry home with them.
Each year, Volunteer Energy Cooperative selects 12 remarkable students from across our service area to join hundreds of their peers in Washington, D.C. They arrive as representatives of their schools and counties, but they leave as something more: young leaders with a deeper understanding of their country and their own potential.
This year’s group embodied that spirit from the moment they stepped off the bus. They asked thoughtful questions, embraced every challenge, and represented VEC with maturity well beyond their years. But two delegates — Dawson Sewell of Jamestown, TN and Berkley Norrid of Monterey, TN — found themselves stepping into an experience no one could have predicted.
While touring Mount Vernon, the historic home of George Washington, the group noticed a camera crew from CBS Sunday Morning News. Correspondent Robert Costa was interviewing visitors for a special segment, asking a question that echoed across the grounds: “What would George Washington think of America today?”
Most tourists paused, thought, and walked on. Dawson and Berkley did the opposite. They stepped forward.
With cameras rolling and the nation’s first president’s home behind them, they spoke confidently about the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, the importance of understanding our history, and the value of young people learning how government works today. Their words were thoughtful, sincere, and grounded in the lessons they had absorbed throughout the Youth Tour.
In that moment, two students from small Tennessee towns found themselves in a national conversation, not because they were chosen, but because they chose to participate. They chose to lead.
Their interview became one of the most memorable moments of the trip, not just for Dawson and Berkley, but for every delegate who watched them step into the spotlight with courage and clarity.
The Washington Youth Tour is built on moments like these, unexpected, transformative, and deeply meaningful. VEC is proud of every student who joined us this year, and especially proud of Dawson and Berkley for showing what leadership looks like when opportunity knocks.
If you’d like to watch part of their interview, you can view the segment using the link provided.