National Prospects

Justin, Rebecca and Delaney Morrison

PHOTO COURTESY REBECCA MORRISON

Three family members experience Washington, D.C., across two generations.

STORY BY DAN OKO

REBECCA MORRISON, A VETERAN ENGLISH TEACHER and mother of two, was raised in Bandera and inherited her uncle’s small spread of land on the Medina River.

In 1985 Morrison was a student editor for her high school newspaper and dreamed about making a difference in the world. As a teenager, she discovered the Government-in- Action Youth Tour, a nationwide program that brings students to the U.S. capital to tour historic sites, experience cultural diversity, meet U.S. congressional representatives, and learn about electric cooperatives and the energy industry.

“It was perfect for me,” says Morrison, a mother of two. “I loved to travel. I wanted to go and see the monuments and learn just how our government works.” After three decades, Morrison had not forgotten her Youth Tour experience.

The experience made such an impression that when her son Justin reached high school, she realized that between her Bandera roots and her inherited property, he too could apply because BEC member youth are eligible to participate in the program, even if they don't live in the service territory. What’s more, her daughter Delaney, who is now a junior, also would have the chance to try for an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

“These values and experiences are very important,” said Morrison. “I learned that if you have something important to say, then people should listen.”

Not that her kids had much of a choice. Early on, she firmly encouraged Justin, and when he missed his chance to apply during his sophomore year, she made sure he applied his junior year. To his mother’s excitement, he was chosen to make the trip in 2017. Youth Tour was an easier sell with Delaney, who inherited her mother’s wanderlust and competitive spirit. Delaney was chosen to travel to

D.C. this past spring, but the coronavirus pandemic postponed the trip. In an effort to redress the 2020 winners’ stolen experience, BEC arranged to have them travel with the 2021 awardees next summer.

“It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life,” said Justin, who vividly remembers the Smithsonian Institution and National Mall. “The Vietnam Memorial was incredible. To see how many people and how many different types of people made the ultimate sacrifice, it makes you appreciate everything we have.”

To win the trip of a lifetime, the Morrisons each had to write an essay. “The essay I wrote was about the Constitution,” explained Delaney. “I wanted to write about something nobody else would choose, so I picked the Eighth Amendment, which deals with cruel and unusual punishment and unfair fines. It’s something I thought about a long time—it’s not the same for rich and poor people. If you don’t have a lot of money, a big fine can really make or break you.”

Both Justin and his sister had a leg up in winning thanks to their mother’s vocation as an English teacher. As a student, Rebecca said she wrote and rewrote her own essay on what electrification meant to rural communities in Texas over many weeks. She encouraged her children to do the same.

Delaney says her brother insists she discover D.C. for herself when the time comes. Meanwhile, Justin says he hopes his own children will have a chance to make their grandmother proud when he has a family of his own.