For Ava Files, the NRECA Electric Cooperative Youth Tour experience is a family tradition.
A 2025 participant sponsored by Talquin Electric Cooperative, Files followed her older sister, Eryn, a delegate the previous year and member of the Youth Leadership Council representing Florida.
Files now has a big addition to her accolades as the 2026 recipient of a $10,000 scholarship from the Glenn English National Cooperative Leadership Foundation Scholarship, a program open to Electric Cooperative Youth Tour alumni. Since 2014, the foundation has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships. Awards consist of one $10,000 award and four $1,000 awards each year.
Files expects to graduate from Florida A&M University next May at 18, becoming one of the school's youngest graduates, after earning an associate degree in high school.
She said her Electric Cooperative Youth Tour experience has helped her prepare for a career in global affairs or diplomacy.
“By meeting with lobbyists and learning more about the cooperative mission with other amazing students in Washington, D.C., I saw firsthand how collaboration, preparation, and civic responsibility can turn ideas into meaningful action,” Files said.
“The experience also strengthened my confidence in speaking with others, asking questions, and forming relationships with people from diverse backgrounds.”
Learn more about Files and the other scholarship recipients:
Ava Files, 18
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Talquin Electric Cooperative,
Quincy, Florida
Education: Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida. Major in international affairs and global security and minor in pre-law.
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Dream job: Foreign service officer/diplomat.
Hometown and what you like best about it: Tallahassee, Florida. Growing up in the state capital, I am grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by people who are actively engaged in public service, education and civic organizations. I have also treasured a childhood in a place where I can see how investments of time, presence and talent made by my community leaders can positively influence the lives of the people around me.
Electric Cooperative Youth Tour year and how the experience shaped you:
2025. Through the tour, students are encouraged to lead, ask questions, take initiative and become more engaged in the world around them. For me, that investment has extended far beyond one week in Washington. It has influenced my foundational approach to my education, service and future career. I truly hope that others can also experience the power of this worldview of service and understand that the perspective we are given is not meant to remain with us, but to live through us and light the path we choose to take after the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour.
What you'd like people to know about electric co-ops: Electric cooperatives offer young people an opportunity to see leadership and public service in action. Before the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, I primarily thought of Talquin as a utility provider. Through my experience, I learned more about the people, decisions and relationships that make the cooperative mission so successful. People should find greater appreciation for the cooperative investment in the next generation because students are encouraged to lead, ask questions, take initiative and become more engaged in the world around them.
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Austin Dean, 20
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Southside Electric Cooperative,
Crewe, Virginia
Education: Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia. Major in biochemistry and minor in leadership studies.
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Dream job: My dream job is to work in a collaborative research environment, whether in industry or academia, where people bring different perspectives to solve meaningful problems. I’m drawn to pharmacology and neuroscience because they combine careful science with questions that can directly affect people’s health and quality of life.
Hometown and what you like best about it: Powhatan, Virginia. There’s a familiarity in Powhatan that I really appreciate. Growing up there taught me that community is something people actively take part in. When something happens to someone in the community, word travels quickly and people tend to step in to help. People know one another, show up for each other and care about what happens locally.
Electric Cooperative Youth Tour year and how the experience shaped you:
2023; also served on Youth Leadership Council. The tour gave me a clearer sense of where I could contribute. Coming back as an NRECA program assistant was meaningful because I could help newer delegates feel comfortable and find their footing in the same kind of experience that had mattered so much to me. The program has also shaped the work I do at CNU, carrying its focus on education and concern for community into research and health-access work at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
What you'd like people to know about electric co-ops: Electric cooperatives are deeply connected to the communities they serve. They provide reliable electricity, and they also create opportunities for education, leadership and local involvement. The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour is a fantastic example. Southside Electric saw potential in me as a student from a small town like Powhatan and opened a door that led to continued involvement with NRECA and a stronger sense of how I want to serve my community.
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Maggie Martin, 19
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Dream job: My dream job would be to become a surgeon, though I am not yet sure which specialty. I would also love to continue helping build mental health resources for children in rural communities.
Hometown and what you like best about it: Starkville, Mississippi. What I like best about it is that, although it is home to a Southeastern Conference college, it still has a small-town feel and fosters an environment where friends and family can grow close in every season.
Electric Cooperative Youth Tour year and how the experience shaped you: 2024; also served as Youth Leadership Council delegate and national spokesperson in 2025. The program gave me a community I had been searching for all my life—friends who felt like family and pushed me to grow, all the while making sure I knew that, no matter what, I was cared for and loved. Because of their support, I was able to discover new passions, overcome fears and step into a version of myself who is consistently ready to take on the next goal.
What you'd like people to know about electric co-ops: Co-ops do more than keep your lights on. They work every day to build communities capable of building one another up and empowering the next generation of leaders to do the same. They continually invest in the people and places they serve, and that investment helps young leaders across our country pursue their dreams and futures boldly.
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Jose Sosa Martinez, 20
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Northwestern Electric Cooperative, Woodward, Oklahoma
Education: University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Major in chemical engineering.
Dream job: A career in pharmaceutical research or working in the oil and gas industry.
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Hometown and what you like best about it: Laverne, Oklahoma. Even though we’re a small town, someone is always ready to step up and help out. You really feel that tight-knit connection at community events like the town-wide cleanup that I did during high school or the Sand Plum Festival, a newer event on Main Street where local vendors sell items made from sand plums. I love how everyone genuinely backs up each other.
Electric Cooperative Youth Tour year and how the experience shaped you:
2023; also served on Youth Leadership Council. “OKYT2023” is a phrase that bonded me with quite a few people. It has given me so many connections and a community of people you can reach out to whenever life happens. It's really cool having people across the state and country who actually stay invested in each other.
What you'd like people to know about electric co-ops: Borrowing a line from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, co-ops truly are "of the people, by the people, for the people." That community-first mindset is at the heart of everything co-ops do and reminds me of growing up in Laverne, where everyone genuinely backs each other up. That is really what the co-op mindset means to me. It is all about passing it forward so the next person gets that same boost.
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Sydney Reardon, 21
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Tri-County Electric Cooperative,
Azle, Texas
Education: Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, Oklahoma. Major in aviation/professional pilot, minor in marketing.
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Dream job: Commercial airline pilot.
Hometown and what you like best about it: Roanoke, Texas. I’ve lived in Roanoke my entire life, and it has been so special to watch this town grow and blossom into what it is today. Now that I am in college, I think I appreciate Roanoke even more. Being away has made coming home and visiting that much sweeter. Roanoke will forever hold such a special place in my heart, and I will always be proud to call it home.
Electric Cooperative Youth Tour year and how the experience shaped you: 2022. The tour truly was “the trip of a lifetime.” The experience broadened my perspective and deepened my understanding of the diverse communities that make up our nation. From the research, observations and interviews I conducted while preparing my competition essay to the people I was blessed to meet and get to know throughout the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, I left the experience as a better person for my community and a better citizen for my country.
What you'd like people to know about electric co-ops: Electric cooperatives are about so much more than a business. At their heart, co-ops are about community. Members, employees and volunteers work together to serve one another and make their communities stronger.
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