By Ciara Lusina
My name is Ciara Lusnia. I am a rising senior at Clearwater High School in Clearwater, Florida. I participate in Varsity Volleyball and Track & Field while maintaining a straight “A” average in the Cambridge AICE Program. I am also very active in my school’s drama department and play volleyball year round through club programs.
I initially found out about the NFL-Wharton PREP Leadership Program my sophomore year from a newspaper article about a student in a nearby school who attended the program. I kept that article to remind myself to apply for the program the following year, as it is only for juniors becoming seniors. From the information I found out, the program seemed like a fantastic opportunity. Being one of 36 students selected for a high-achieving academic and elite athlete leadership program would be perfect.
As planned, I applied my junior year. I was ecstatic when I heard I was accepted. I attended the program at the University of Pennsylvania with expectations to meet other students from across the country who excel in school and sports, and that is just what happened. Within minutes we bonded as we shared the same passions. It was amazing.
Then there was the curriculum of the program. We embarked on a trip to the Philadelphia Eagles’ facility the first night and had a blast. The presentation by James Harris (Chief of Staff, Philadelphia Eagles) was topped off with a tour of the training facilities and locker room. It was so cool!
Early the next morning, we marched off from our dorms to the Wharton School of Business where we had a day packed with guest speakers. My favorite speaker was Tim Roberts from Gatorade Sports Science because he discussed how to properly eat as an athlete from a biological point of view. The long day was brought to an end with a fun night of bowling.
The next day was full with eight more guest speakers. After learning about a variety of topics ranging from media training to personality styles, the students and staff went to a formal closing dinner. The time at University of Pennsylvania flew by! The closing dinner was a great way to wrap up a busy trip with 35 new friends.
I learned so much from my experience at the NFL-Wharton PREP Leadership Program. My current goal is to use the leadership techniques such as how to motivate different personality styles in my upcoming volleyball season as we strive to regain the title of District Champions for the fourth consecutive year. I hope to encourage our team by following the goal-setting methods discussed in two different presentations at Wharton. For the academic side, the end of my summer will be filled with standardized test studying. Here I plan to use the tools presented in the Penn Admissions and Princeton Review session.
I do not know what my future holds. Playing volleyball is something I dream of doing at the collegiate level. For academics, I am leaning towards studying something in the field of medicine while in college. Where athletics and academics will come together will be determined this upcoming year. All I know for sure is that anything I put my head towards, I can achieve. I always thought this, but the NFL-Wharton PREP Leadership Program assured me. With the right mindset - both athletically and academically - anything is possible.