Maddie Barbee Doerfler and Angela Goh from Battlefield High School in Prince William County — along with Vaibhav Dwaraka from Fairfax County — joined 2,000 other high school students, chaperones and staff delegates from 44 states in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Tour. The informational summit discussed electric cooperatives and took representatives on visits to historical sites and meetings with lawmakers.
Doerfler, Goh and Dwaraka were able to speak with Sen. Mark Warner while visiting the Capitol Building. Doerfler said she enjoyed speaking with the digital director of U.S. Rep. Gerald Connelly (VA-11) about issues she cared about.
“Being able to speak to him about the policies being put in place and the ones they hope to work toward really opened my eyes about the changes Virginia could use and the people working to make it the best place possible,” Doerfler said.
The Youth Tour, started in the 1950s, has brought tens of thousands of high schoolers to Washington, D.C. nearly every year to gain knowledge about American history and “their role as a citizen by meeting their representatives and senators,” a press release from NOVEC stated.
In addition to meetings and historical site visits, students had the opportunity to attend a Washington Nationals game and enjoy a riverboat cruise on the Potomac River.
“Youth Tour was a great and fun opportunity to explore the nation’s capital,” Dwaraka said.
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Prince William County Public Schools is asking families to notify the division whether their students will require bus transportation for the upcoming 2025–26 school year, a move aimed at improving routing efficiency and service reliability.
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