Senior Jason Londrico rose for another summer day at the Oelschlager Summer Leadership Institute, a week-long session at The University of Akron. He progressed through his day with the different leadership skills taught at the camp. To test leadership and cooperation skills, the instructors put Londrico into a group with fellow campmates, and had them form a circle where each person would cooperate with one another to untangle each member. Londrico applied new leadership skills to these activities, with other lessons throughout the week that he learned to apply to his daily life.

Londrico, after concluding his junior year at Revere High School, applied to the Oelschlager Summer Leadership Institute that held a week session from June 20-26 at The University of Akron main campus and stayed in the Honors Complex Residence Hall. Originally notified of his recommendation for the camp by Revere High School Guidance counselors Jenny Kirchner and now retired Linda Weigand, Londrico completed an application describing his qualifications to attend. He also earned a teacher recommendation to submit with his application. At the camp, the main focus points emphasized motivation for academic improvement, information about leadership and civic engagement in the community and orientation on the resources provided by higher forms of education. Jim and Vanita Oelschlagers’s contributions to the camp since its founding in 2001 keep it running as Aysen Ulupinar, Coordinator of Co-Curricular Programs and Activities and OSLI Director, and Brandon Mikulski, Assistant Director for the Living-Learning Communities and OSLI Director, coordinate the summer sessions.

Londrico voiced that the session also helped him to prevent passing judgment on people that he has not gotten to know. He talked of his new ability to break down barriers in school and willingness to get out of his comfort zone. Londrico explained that he has learned to work with other people and to lead groups but also to take his foot off of the pedal and to let someone else run the show. Londrico added the impact that the camp exerted over his life as well as his opinion on the camp’s worth.

“[OSLI] opened my eyes a lot. When I first got to the camp, I didn’t know what to expect. By the time I had left, I had figured out a way to break down barriers. . . At first, I heard that you get a $500 check . . . when I got there and learned everything that I did, I would have paid $500 to go. . . It was unbelievable,” Londrico said.

Ulupinar described OSLI’s original founding and its purpose, as well as the general happenings at the camp.

“The Oelschlager Summer Leadership Institute (OSLI) is the result of a generous gift given to The University of Akron by Jim and Vanita Oelschlager. Due to their unparalleled generosity, 48 area high school students are selected to participate in a seven-day summer workshop on The University of Akron’s campus. OSLI [empowers] high school students by introducing them to the requisite skills, attitudes and resources for success in college. This fun, challenging experience encourages participants to adopt habits and utilize resources to become future high-achieving collegiate leaders and scholars. At the conclusion of the Institute, a $500 Golden Acorn Leadership Award is presented to each participant,” Ulupinar said.

Kirchner, who submitted the applications on Londrico’s behalf, explained the activities of the participants and their significance.

“From the time the kids wake up until they go to bed, the kids are in activities involving leadership skills. They are hearing great speakers who have been through many leadership activities. They are living on a college campus, so it gives students who potentially might not be college bound a great look at a college campus. They do community service during that week. It’s an eye opening experience where they gain a lot of connections with students from other schools,” Kirchner said.

Kirchner added that the Revere students always return from the camp with positive feedback about their experiences at the session. She considers it rewarding.

There is no cost to attend OSLI. The Institute covers the cost of housing, meals, curriculum materials, transportation, etc. during the Institute and admission to all special events. The students live in the Honors Complex Residence Hall. Students in the Ohio counties of Cuyahoga, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit and Wayne, as well as some students in the Stahlstown, Pennsylvania area are eligible to participate after completing their junior year. Students must average a 3.0 GPA or lower (on a 4.0 GPA scale) and show potential concerning leadership areas to be eligible. In the past three years, four Revere students attended OSLI: one in 2012, two in 2013 and one in 2014.