Ronald Marrietta Jr. (left) and Alexander Pablo (right).
Alexander Pablo (District 2) and Ronald Marrietta Jr. (District 1), two Gila River youth, have recently returned from a weeklong educational journey to Washington, D.C. The Gila River Indian Community Utility Authority selected the two young men for the Washington Youth Tour and sponsored them on the trip, which ran from June 14 to June 21.
“We’re going to see how they run their business, how they run their electricalsystem in Washington, D.C., and bring back what we learn there,” said Marrietta the morning of their departure to the capitol.
Alexander Pablo and Ronald Marrietta are both incoming seniors at Vechij Himdag Mashchamakud, the alternative high school in Sacaton. The young men were informed of the Washington Youth Tour by their principal, Kim Franklin. Both students credit Franklin for encouraging them to apply and supporting them through the application process. “I would like to thank Miss Franklin, our principal, for giving us this opportunity and GRICUA for funding us,” said Pablo.
Applying for this travel opportunity is no small task. Just to be considered, the students were required to fill out an extensive application, write several research essays about political issues and energy conservation, and stand before a four- person interview panel to speak about leadership opportunities, volunteer work and the research that went into their essays. What gave Pablo and Marrietta the edge, said Allen, was VHM’s service learning program, which encourages its students to stretch their comfort zone through personal interaction with government professionals like Gov. Mendoza and other tribal leaders.
The Washington Youth Tour is a nationwide program that is organized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Arizona contributed 32 participants overall to the Youth Tour including several Native American students from the Tohono O’odham Nation, White Mountain Apache tribe and Pascua Yaqui tribe. The purpose of the Washington Youth Tour is to educate young people about locally owned power companies and the relationship between, “community-owned electric utilities and the federal government,” according to GRICUA’s website.
Jaina Allen is the GRICUA Customer Service Representative and Coordinator for the Gila River Indian Community Utility Authority Youth Tour group. She was one of nine chaperones to accompany the Arizona students on the Youth Tour. According to her, “The Youth Tour gives them exposure about how to run a co-op.” One of the first interactive learning activities that the Arizona teens of the Youth Tour did was establish a temporary, mock co-op that they called the Soda Pop Co-op. The SPC functioned as a standard cooperative would, they even established a board of executives (with five members) to manage funds and distribute water and soda to SPC members. Ronald Marrietta was selected by his peers to serve as one of the board member of the SPC and reportedly was a very active member in the supply and distribution processes of the Soda Pop Co-op.
On Wednesday the 20th of July, the students of Arizona met Representative Raúl Grijalva (D) of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. He discussed a number of topics with the students including the recent passage of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, which aims to impede the Tohono O’odham Nation from purchasing land and building a casino in Glendale, Arizona. They were also pleasantly surprised to meet his secretary, Adeline Aranaydo, who is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and half Akimel O’odham with roots in GRIC’s District 6.
The Youth Tour was not all business, however. The participants also had many opportunities to explore Washington, D.C., and visit the national monuments. They saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, visited Ira Hayes’ grave site in Arlington National Cemetery and witnessed a Military Parade. They visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and got a close up of the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Their favorite was the Iwo Jima Memorial.
The two young men represented Gila River well. “Their behavior was exceptional,” said Allen, “I am very glad that these two young men were selected.” Both participants expressed gratitude toward GRICUA and their respective families for their support.
For next year, Pablo and Marrietta will do outreach to encourage other students to apply for the tour. Said Pablo, “I think it’s a great opportunity. Most people don’t get a chance like this. I just feel real blessed that I [had] the opportunity to go there on behalf of the Community and GRICUA.”
“We’re going to see how they run their business, how they run their electricalsystem in Washington, D.C., and bring back what we learn there,” said Marrietta the morning of their departure to the capitol.
Alexander Pablo and Ronald Marrietta are both incoming seniors at Vechij Himdag Mashchamakud, the alternative high school in Sacaton. The young men were informed of the Washington Youth Tour by their principal, Kim Franklin. Both students credit Franklin for encouraging them to apply and supporting them through the application process. “I would like to thank Miss Franklin, our principal, for giving us this opportunity and GRICUA for funding us,” said Pablo.
Applying for this travel opportunity is no small task. Just to be considered, the students were required to fill out an extensive application, write several research essays about political issues and energy conservation, and stand before a four- person interview panel to speak about leadership opportunities, volunteer work and the research that went into their essays. What gave Pablo and Marrietta the edge, said Allen, was VHM’s service learning program, which encourages its students to stretch their comfort zone through personal interaction with government professionals like Gov. Mendoza and other tribal leaders.
The Washington Youth Tour is a nationwide program that is organized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Arizona contributed 32 participants overall to the Youth Tour including several Native American students from the Tohono O’odham Nation, White Mountain Apache tribe and Pascua Yaqui tribe. The purpose of the Washington Youth Tour is to educate young people about locally owned power companies and the relationship between, “community-owned electric utilities and the federal government,” according to GRICUA’s website.
Jaina Allen is the GRICUA Customer Service Representative and Coordinator for the Gila River Indian Community Utility Authority Youth Tour group. She was one of nine chaperones to accompany the Arizona students on the Youth Tour. According to her, “The Youth Tour gives them exposure about how to run a co-op.” One of the first interactive learning activities that the Arizona teens of the Youth Tour did was establish a temporary, mock co-op that they called the Soda Pop Co-op. The SPC functioned as a standard cooperative would, they even established a board of executives (with five members) to manage funds and distribute water and soda to SPC members. Ronald Marrietta was selected by his peers to serve as one of the board member of the SPC and reportedly was a very active member in the supply and distribution processes of the Soda Pop Co-op.
On Wednesday the 20th of July, the students of Arizona met Representative Raúl Grijalva (D) of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. He discussed a number of topics with the students including the recent passage of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, which aims to impede the Tohono O’odham Nation from purchasing land and building a casino in Glendale, Arizona. They were also pleasantly surprised to meet his secretary, Adeline Aranaydo, who is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and half Akimel O’odham with roots in GRIC’s District 6.
The Youth Tour was not all business, however. The participants also had many opportunities to explore Washington, D.C., and visit the national monuments. They saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, visited Ira Hayes’ grave site in Arlington National Cemetery and witnessed a Military Parade. They visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and got a close up of the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Their favorite was the Iwo Jima Memorial.
The two young men represented Gila River well. “Their behavior was exceptional,” said Allen, “I am very glad that these two young men were selected.” Both participants expressed gratitude toward GRICUA and their respective families for their support.
For next year, Pablo and Marrietta will do outreach to encourage other students to apply for the tour. Said Pablo, “I think it’s a great opportunity. Most people don’t get a chance like this. I just feel real blessed that I [had] the opportunity to go there on behalf of the Community and GRICUA.”
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