Rural Electric Youth Tour
Elizabeth Bonnett, Tyler Lawson win 2012 Youth Tour contest
Claiborne Electric Cooperative recently announced the winners of its annual Rural Electric Youth Tour contest, a program sending two high school juniors on an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
The 2012 winners are Elizabeth Bonnett of Ruston and Tyler Lawson of Farmerville.
Bonnett is the daughter of Ricky and Angela Bonnett. She is a member of the SBESE Approved Home Study Program and maintains a 4.0 grade point average. Bonnett is a member of the Christian Home Educators Fellowship, the Tech Cor Speech Club, and SEEKERS, a Ruston home school co-op. She has been listed in the Who’s Who Registry of Academic Excellence, and received Ruston High School’s Sharp Cat Award. Bonnett plays soccer for the Ruston Parks and Recreation League. She is also an active member of the First Assembly of God Church in Ruston, where she participates in youth drama, the praise and worship team, as a nursery worker, and in the Girls Only Club.
Lawson is the son of Steve and Marion Lawson. He attends Farmerville High School, where he maintains a 4.0 grade point average. Lawson’s academic success has allowed him the opportunity to graduate early from high school. He is involved in the FHS Beta club.
To enter this year’s contest, juniors were asked to write an essay describing their ideal career path and explaining why they would choose that particular path.
Bonnett’s essay described a career as an NFL sportscaster. The essay described her love of sports, especially football. Her dream is to be the first female NFL commentator on a major network. In this capacity, she said she would give play-by-play analysis throughout games, identify plays, explain calls by game officials, and provide entertaining information about players and coaches for the viewers.
Lawson’s essay discussed a career in mechanical engineering. He wrote that this career would allow him to become financially stable early in his adult life, have a career that he enjoys, and allow him to invent something that will change the world. Lawson wrote that he feels lucky to know which career path he wants to take at an early age, so that he has time to really pursue it.
Bonnett and Lawson will become a part of the Louisiana delegation of about 30 students who will travel to Washington, D.C., in June for the National Rural Electric Youth Tour. While in Washington, they will participate in national meetings and social events with approximately 1,500 other Youth Tour delegates from across the United States. They will also get the opportunity to tour many of the national capital’s most famous sites. The trip will also include a visit to Capitol Hill, where they will meet with Louisiana’s congressional delegation.
The Youth Tour contest was open to any high school junior whose parents or guardians get their electricity from Claiborne Electric Cooperative, or any junior who attends a school which gets its power from Claiborne Electric.
Elizabeth Bonnett Tyler Lawson
