LA GRANDE — Marissa Lane, a La Grande High School School junior, will be heading to Washington, D.C., in June.

Lane is one of four high school juniors in Union, Baker and Harney counties who have been selected to attend an all-expense-paid trip to the nation’s capital. 

Lane will be one of Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative’s Youth Tour delegates, representing Oregon and the Northwest in a week-long trip as part of the 2022 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. OTEC’s 2022 Youth Tour delegates will be among more than 1,500 other students from across the United States. 

On the June trip Lane will join fellow Northeast Oregon OTEC 2022 Youth Tour delegates Tayleur Baker, of Crane Union High School, Harney County; Isabella Beckner, of Eagle Cap Innovation High School, Baker City, Baker County; and Makenzie Flanagan, of Baker High School, Baker County. The four juniors were selected on the basis of their community involvement, leadership skills and submitted essays.

“Youth Tour delegates come back energized with a broader understanding of their government, the nation’s history and the electric cooperative way of life and business model,” said Joe Hathaway, communications manager at OTEC. “Sponsoring students to attend the Youth Tour each year is an investment in the future leaders of Eastern Oregon.”

Over the course of the tour, OTEC’s delegates will visit famous historical sites, meet with Oregon’s congressional leaders and learn valuable leadership skills. The students will also create podcasts and digital photo projects as they learn about electric cooperatives and current issues in energy and climate change legislation that face their communities and our nation, according to an OTEC press release.