UVA Leadership on the Lawn Review

<p>Since there isn’t much information on Leadership on the Lawn (From now on, I will refer to it as LOL), I figured I’d post a review of my week there.</p>

<p>Accommodations: LOL campers stayed at Page House, which is in the McCormick Road Residential Area. The dorms were not air conditioned, and on move in day, they were easily 100+ degrees. Make sure to bring a lot of fans. At LEAST 3 per room or you will not sleep that week. The quad outside was pretty nice, and they are in a pretty good area in the middle of campus.
Rating: 3/10</p>

<p>Speakers: There were several speakers throughout the week. Some were absolutely fantastic, others I did not enjoy as much. There were 2 standouts on the bottom, and 2 or 3 speakers that I really learned from. Speakers talked about public speaking, the MBIT, ethics, leadership and college admissions, and various other topics.
Rating: 7/10</p>

<p>Activities: When not listening to a speaker, LOL staff planned out many activities. I will break them down into day events and the daily nightly events (these were fun). On Wednesday, we did service at a local farm (part for profit, part nonprofit) picking potatoes for 3.5 hours. Daily activities included playing the game Cross the Line, taking the MBIT test, a tour around UVA grounds, and a little free time each day. During free time, we were allowed to stay near the dorms, and that was it. Unless we had a counselor, choices included sleeping, relaxing in the dorms, or playing soccer/football/catch/walking around/whatever outside.
Each night, LOL campers had a big nightly event. On Monday, it was a scavenger hunt around UVA (fun!). Tuesday’s activity was field day (volleyball, football, soccer, frisbee, lots of fun!). Wednesday featured a trip to Arch’s frozen yogurt and hot tub/pool movie night, which was easily the highlight (socially) of the camp. Thursday was a talent show, dance party, and Smores night, which was also fun.
Rating: 9/10</p>

<p>Counselors: My counselor was phenomenal. She put up with pretty much anything us high schoolers thew at her. She was always positive and just a joy to spend a week with.
Rating: 10/10</p>

<p>Food: Most meals were at Runk Dining Hall, which was about a 20 minute walk from the dorm (far!). The meals were below average, and most did not like the food. On some nights, meals were catered from places like Panera, a Chinese place, a fried chicken place, and a pork place, which were all pretty good.
Rating: 6/10</p>

<p>Overall, I really enjoyed the camp. I thought it was a great learning experience, and I would recommend everybody that’s interested to apply. Makes me want to pay OOS tuition to UVA lol.
Wahoo Wah!
[Leadership</a> on the Lawn](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/vpsa/leadershiponthelawn/]Leadership”>http://www.virginia.edu/vpsa/leadershiponthelawn/)</p>

<p>Thanks for the review and feedback. My DD attended the Intro to Engineering Program the previous week. I would have to say her review of the UVA ITE is almost identical to yours with one exception. She got to stay in the brand new dorm Kellog House and she loved it. Plus they had air conditioning which made a huge difference in her comfort level. She too really liked UVA and we are OOS.</p>

<p>It’s unfortunate that the selection process occurs so much later than comparable programs. Some students will feel a need to opt for another summer opportunity that notifies earlier in the spring.</p>

<p>@adscram14 Thank you for posting such a thorough review of your experience. The program has been responding to participant feedback and this year (LOL 2013) participants will be staying in newly constructed and air-conditioned residence halls much closer to the dining hall. </p>

<p>It’s good to hear that, overall, you loved the experience and would recommend it to those interested. Leadership on the Lawn also has a facebook page [Leadership</a> on the Lawn | Facebook](<a href=“http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leadership-on-the-Lawn/557315837616717]Leadership”>http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leadership-on-the-Lawn/557315837616717) and Twitter account <a href=“https://twitter.com/LeadOnTheLawn[/url]”>https://twitter.com/LeadOnTheLawn&lt;/a&gt; if you want to get/stay connected with the program.</p>

<p>Wish I had known about this program. First I heard of it was today in the local on-line paper. Nothing from our high school. My D is headed to Girls State and attended Gov school last year.</p>

<p>Better luck next time.</p>