Orange County Leadership Academy is a camp held at the University of California, Santa Barbara every summer for the Associated Student Body to train and develop skills to be leaders.
At this camp, students stay in dorm rooms, attend workshops and seminars and participate in activities that focus on leadership skills, teamwork and effective communication.
This year, Aliso Niguel High School was honored to be the recipient of the 2024 Darrell Stillwagon Award. This award is given annually to the school that exemplifies the best spirit and integrity of leadership.
Fifty-eight Orange County high schools were in attendance at this year’s OCL camp and shared multitudes of ideas and skills to better all ASBs across Orange County.
While discussing with ASB President, Drake Smith (12), he shared the importance of our ASB going to OCL, “OCL allows for other ASBs to collaborate and build community and relationships across all of Orange County. Sharing ideas, participating in workshops, developing new ways to engage our own school community, building student body spirit, and preparing our student leaders for the upcoming school year. Our drive and motivation launch at OCL, and we carry that energy throughout the school year”.
ASB is such a detrimental part of the community and school as it helps create young leaders and foster school spirit.
Although OCL helps create a positive community within ASB, it also creates strong bonds and fond memories within our ASB.
Rijul Kashyap (11) shared one of his fondest memories from the camp, “Definitely winning the Stillwagon, we put in a lot of hard work, and so doing all of that paid off. ASB is just really important to me because it allows me to be engaged with the school.”
Aliso Niguel’s ASB is notably one of the most engaging and outgoing ASBs with school life, dedicating hours to making sure our school spirit shines bright and that the Wolverines feel welcomed at all times.
Drake has dedicated much of his high school career to ensuring that every student is able to feel comfortable and safe while at school. With his four years at Aliso, Drake has been able to make some of the best memories. While at OCL, he shared one of his favorites, “My favorite part about OCL was the dances. Close to 3 thousand kids gather after a 14+ hour day of workshops, learning, collaborating, and competition to celebrate and unwind with one another. Truly ending each day in community.”
Community within ASB is truly the beauty of going to OCL. While attending this year’s camp, students were able others from all over the county and create strong bonds.
With the school year kicking off, there is no doubt that with the help of ASB and all their new ideas built from their time at OCL, this year will be an unforgettable one.
