An inside-the-Beltway look at the telecom industry Students represent Ben Lomand Connect at Youth Tour BY LISA SAVAGE
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trip to Washington, D.C., was fun for high school students Madysen Pettit and Dalton Burks. They met other students from across the country representing their rural telephone cooperatives. But it was more than a week of sightseeing tours and meeting new people. While learning about the history of the United States, Pettit and Burks also learned about telecommunications in their own communities and how it is affected by legislation in Washington. It was a topic about which they were already familiar. Burks and Pettit submitted winning essays about the impact of high-speed internet to earn a trip to represent Ben Lomand Connect at the 2017 Foundation for Rural Service Youth Tour in Washington in June. During the trip, Pettit talked with students from other states, and she learned internet services are not all the same. One student she met from Missouri has a very slow internet connection. Pettit says students were shown how the government and communications are connected. “It was interesting to see how it
Ben Lomand Connect
Dalton Burks, left, and Madysen Pettit submitted winning essays for the chance to go to Washington, D.C., for the Foundation for Rural Service Youth Tour.
DALTON BURKS
• Junior: Covenant Academy • Parents: Randy & Karen Burks • Activities: She participates in volleyball, chess club and Interact and volunteers at the Magness Library. • Quote: “The internet is essential to the continued development of our world. Without it, the spread of ideas and the advancement of technology would proceed at a much slower pace.” all ties together,” she says. Burks says she gained new information about the nation’s history and government. “I learned how Washington can affect the communications in our communities,” she says. “There are a lot of people
MADYSEN PETTIT
• Senior: Van Buren County High School • Parents: Shane and Misty Pettit • Activities: She participates in cheerleading, volleyball, 4-H Honors Club and FBLA. • Quote: “Education, entertainment and communication make a big difference in our world, and most people are very grateful for it. I am very thankful to have high-speed internet and the way it helps me.” working to keep rural America as updated in communications as big cities.” Since 1995, the Youth Tour has brought together about 100 high school students each year from rural America for a week in Washington.
The tour offers students an inside look at the telecommunications industry. They learn about the legislative, regulatory and governmental processes. They also visit historical sites with students from other rural communities. The students visited sites such as the Washington Monument at the National Mall, Arlington National Cemetery and Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. They also explored popular sites like the Smithsonian Institution and saw Washington, D.C., at night, with stops at the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and memorials for World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War. They also toured the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. memorials and visited the memorial for Iwo Jima. As part of educational sessions, they toured the U.S. Capitol, Library of Congress and Supreme Court and visited with their congressional representative.
Dalton Burks, left, and Madysen Pettit visited sites around the capital as part of the Youth Tour. September/October 2017 | 13