“Change in your city, your state, your country and your world all begin with you,” noted 2017 Washington Youth Tour delegate Derek Huell. “Change can happen when nearly 2,000 students join forces from every corner of the nation with a common goal.”
 
Huell delivered those remarks and others on Nov. 13 before approximately 250 attendees at the Annual Meeting of Georgia Electric Membership Corp. in Savannah. Huell shared what he described as a life-changing experience and his impressions of the Washington Youth Tour, an annual leadership event sponsored by the state’s electric co-ops, including Flint Energies headquartered in Reynolds, Ga.
 
In June, Huell and 113 Georgia high school students and 14 chaperones traveled to Washington, D.C. to learn about U.S. history, government and careers in public service. During the week, the students also had the unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with their elected officials to discuss current events and local, state and national issues.

“The time is inching closer and closer when my generation will bear the responsibilities of this great nation,” he recalled. “Thanks to the experiences of the Washington Youth Tour, more than 1,800 student participants, including myself, feel prepared to face any storm because we know it is our duty to power the future.”
 
Huell also expressed his gratitude to his sponsoring co-op, Flint Energies, as well as Georgia EMC and co-ops in other parts of the state and country that provide financial support and other resources to make the Youth Tour possible.
 
In July, Huell returned to Washington, D.C. after being chosen by his peers to represent them as the Georgia delegate on the 2017 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Leadership Council.
 
Next year in June, Huell will return to Atlanta to deliver remarks during the kick-off banquet of the Georgia portion of the 2018 Washington Youth Tour.
 
He is the son of Dan and Bernice Huell of Midland and a senior at Columbus High School, where he serves as president of the Science National Honor Society and the Science Olympiad Team, as well as vice president of the Writer’s Club. As captain of the Literary Meet Team, Huell won the 2017 State Championship for Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking. He is also an active debater on the Georgia and national circuits.
 
In addition, Huell is the founder and CEO of Travel Tutoring, bringing SAT and ACT standardized test preparation to students’ doorsteps. Proceeds fund H2.0, a water desalination development project— for which he also serves as CEO—with a focus on affordably converting saltwater to clean drinking water.
 
Through regular volunteering with Alzheimer’s patients, Huell has developed an interest in neuroscience and plans to study as an undergraduate with hopes of eventually becoming a neurological surgeon.