HSLC

The University of Oklahoma’s High School Leadership Conference, a leadership conference for high school juniors sponsored by Campus Activities Council, takes place February 17^th through the 19^th on the Norman campus.  The HSLC website describes the conference purpose “to equip, empower and inspire high school students with valuable leadership skills that will benefit them in their daily lives… Our goal is to show the students that leadership is more than a responsibility, but rather a lifestyle.”

More than 215 high school juniors from 4 states applied to attend the conference, however after review of the chair, 6 vice-chairs, and 28 executive members, 165 are chosen to attend the conference.  The 26 counselors will take the 165 students throughout the Norman campus to engage in leadership activities and listen to motivational speaker, Marc Wayshack.  Wayshack will speak about “breaking the barrier” and students will participate in breaking actual wooden boards.

The 13^th Annual High School Leadership conference’s theme this year is “Leaders: always a beat ahead.”  Students will not only be attending leadership activities, but will also be touring the campus throughout the weekend, including he dormitories and cafeterias.  The University of Oklahoma’s Housing and Food is ta main sponsor of HSLC, as well as the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and Coca-Cola.  Housing will also be provided for all the high school students and OU students at the Sooner Legends Hotel.

Ganga Moorthy, chair for the High School Leadership Conference, told me that “The conference is based off of leadership activities and is focused on teaching students what it takes to be leader back in their high schools.”  She also told me that she hopes that what these students take away is influential in their lives and based on the leadership activities these students partake in, that they will be able to use what they learned, in the future.  Moorthy told me that the total cost is $100 which includes everything, “including two nights lodging in Norman, all meals, materials and a conference t-shirt.”

The High School Leadership Conference hopes to continue to grow and to continue to build upon the success that has kept this one of the more prestigious events that CAC sponsors.  Almost all of the OU students involved attended HSLC when they were in high school, and if they can instill the qualities they learned as high school juniors, then this conference will continue to be as successful as it has been.