Pickens High School student Millie Heeringa participated in the Cooperative Youth Summit, an all-expense paid trip to Columbia for high school rising juniors and seniors July 15-18. Students had the chance to enhance their leadership skills, engage in team-building exercises, learn about electric cooperatives and how state government works, and spend time with other cooperative students from across the state.

Millie was one of two students sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative. David Montes of Westminster was also chosen for the four-day exploration of the state’s capital, advocacy, and the cooperative business model.

Blue Ridge Electric’s student delegates were among 45 teens from across South Carolina who visited Governor Henry McMaster’s office and later heard from South Carolina legislators Representative Micah Caskey and Senator Mike Fanning about their role and responsibilities as future voters and leaders.

The students also learned about the cooperative business model and how an electric cooperative operates. They were members of Soda Pop Co-op, a student-run market with a board of trustees and staff. During a tour of Newberry Electric Cooperative’s headquarters, many of them were lifted more than 100 feet in the air in a bucket truck.

Throughout the week, Cooperative Youth Summit students participated in a team competition in which they developed presentations related to current political and cultural issues such as banning TikTok, regulating artificial intelligence, and subsidizing electric vehicles.

Pickens High School and Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative