Ozarks Electric Cooperative Youth Tour delegate Rukaya Alrubaye, 17, recently captivated an audience of thousands as the national youth spokesperson for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Photo courtesy of Rukaya Alrubaye
Category: Currents

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) recently announced Rukaya Alrubaye of Fayetteville as the 2023 national spokesperson for the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour program.

Rukaya represented Ozarks Electric Cooperative on Youth Tour 2022 in June, and her peers nominated her to serve as the Arkansas Youth Leadership Council Delegate.

At the time, she said, “I am so excited and grateful. … I hope to make connections with people across the country and improve my speaking and leadership skills.”

As national spokesperson, Rukaya will certainly get that opportunity. She will speak at the NRECA PowerXchange conference in Nashville in early March.

“She is an exceptional young lady, and this is a tremendous honor,” says JD Lowery, Youth Tour director and manager of community and economic development for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.

Since the 1950s, the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has brought high school students to the nation’s capital.

This year, Arkansas’ electric cooperatives will again send outstanding high school juniors to attend Youth Tour, an all-expenses-paid educational trip to Washington, D.C., from June 16 through 22. Visit AECC Youth Tour webpage to learn more.

Applications are due soon; contact your local cooperative to apply.