Joanna Serrano, an 11th grade student at Cherokee High School, received 1st place in an essay contest – “How Telecommunications has Impacted My Life in Rural Texas” - sponsored each year by Central Texas Telephone Cooperative, Inc. Joanna wins an all-expense paid trip to Washington DC and will join 100 other 11th grade students from rural areas all over the United States.

Jaemen Moore from Evant won 2nd place and received $150.00 and Faith Lester-Jurek from Star, won 3rd place and received $100.00.

The Foundation for Rural Services, a part of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), of which Central Texas Telephone Cooperative is a member, hosts this trip every summer. The main goal of the trip is to encourage students to remain in and become active members of their rural communities. They also learn that telecommunication services offered in rural Texas are comparable to those found in urban areas.

The students who have won this trip in previous years have all returned and said that “this was definitely a trip of a lifetime!” Congratulations Joanna!