The Leadership Summer Institute: A Taste of College

We take approximately 30 students to a college campus for a week. They live in the dorms, audit classes, and interact with college students. The participants have been to Drake University, Wellesley, Southern Methodist University, Phillips Academy, Morehouse College, Huston-Tillotson University, Concordia University, Southwest Texas State University, Texas A&M, the University of Texas and St. Edward’s University. It is meant to prepare students for college and to show them what it’s like. The program is used to help students increase communication and leadership skills as well as learn personal responsibility.

Opera Heroes and Heroines : Exploring Life’s Choices and Their Outcomes

A new program created by LEAP for adolescent girls and boys uses opera as an educational tool to examine life choices and their outcomes. Opera is filled with characters who have dealt with the issues of domestic violence, sexuality, gender roles, assertiveness, and self esteem. These characters have faced difficult situations, made tough decisions, and faced life and death consequences of their choices.

The program is for students aged 14 to 18 and a significant adult in their life (parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, mentor, etc.). Participants study an upcoming Austin Lyric Opera production for an understanding of the characters and their choices, as well as the music. Through interactive discussions, expert presentations, role play, and group activities both youth and adult participants will focus on relevant issues of self esteem, sexuality, peer pressure, sexual harassment, violence and suicide. Sessions are conducted by trained facilitators, health professionals and expert speakers.

This program utilizes the arts as a vehicle to encourage teens and their parents to open discussion about relevant and often troubling issues that face our families. Leadership styles and peer relations are a focus of the project as well. Collaboration with various community organizations and agencies such as SafePlace, Lifeworks, the City of Austin Police, and City judges also produces dialogue between families and important support services.

The program is a model program with activities and curriculum that are easily replicable and adaptable to individual communities. It can utilize a wide variety of mediums such as ballet, theatre, film, and television.

Recent events make it more important than ever for parents and teens to prevent alienation through open and honest examination of life choices, their outcomes, and problem solving skills that do not include violence. The Opera Heroes and Heroines program is a grass roots community based effort to address those pressing issues before the become a problem.

A special thanks is in order to the City of Austin who are one of our major sponsors for the Summer Leadership Institute.

This project is funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Opera Heroes and Heroines : Exploring Life’s Choices and Their Outcomes

Every LEAP graduate has gone on to attend college after high school