Young Leaders Rise to the Occasion

2021 Leadership Summit scholarships awarded to Youth Tour runners-up

OEC awarded two $500 scholarships in March to Youth Tour runners-up Destiny Ryan and Somtoo Nkurumeh of Westmoore High School. The two stellar students were also selected to attend the 2021 Leadership Summit.

Leadership Summit, a one-day leadership workshop where those in attendance learn team-building and leadership skills, took place March 15 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.

"I absolutely loved [Leadership Summit]," said Ryan. "The speakers talked how to develop a strong personal drive in leadership, how to look at situations from a different perspective and even the importance of failing."

Leadership Summit, organized by Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, gathered students from our sister co-ops across the state, taking into consideration social distancing and mask-wearing. Rhett Laubach, founder of YourNextSpeaker, LLC and a wellrespected, trained youth leadership developer, and Kelly Barnes conducted the program.

"After being forced to cancel Leadership Summit in 2020 due to the pandemic, I was happy this year's winners were able to experience it," said OEC Education and Outreach Programs Director Tory Tedder-Loffland. "I'm always proud of the outstanding kids who represent OEC and know Destiny and Somtoo will grow into great leaders of their communities."

Congratulations to Destiny and Somtoo!