Olivia Perez Attends USNA Summer Seminar
August 29, 2019
Olivia and her “squad” during their last session of seal trials. Together they were squatting a log as part of their daily physical training.
This Summer, Olivia Perez (‘20) attended Summer Seminar, a 6-day USNA camp in Annapolis, Maryland. The experiences she had, along with the people she met had a huge impact on her life, teaching her many valuable lessons.
The United States Naval Academy holds a Summer Seminar every year. It is intended to allow prospective incoming seniors to experience a midshipman’s (USNA college student) life for a week and get an insight as to what going to school there would be like.
Perez’s schedule was jam-packed. After waking up at 5:30 every morning, workouts consisting of mile running, sprints, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and several other exercises began at 5:45.
Perez says “my roommate and I would wake up every morning to banging on the walls.”
Perez also attended classes everyday such as physics in everyday life, literature, damage control, and even naval architecture. She attended assemblies about honor, which were similar to the convocations we have here at the Academy of the Holy Names. Perez also participated in sport breakouts and other fun activities throughout the day.
Perez says “I learned a lot about leadership and how to personally become a better leader. After meeting people from all over the globe, I realized how much talent there is in the world. I met people from Kansas, Boston, California, North Carolina, and even Puerto Rico.”
Students decide to attend Summer Seminar for a variety of reasons, although the most common reason is to see what it’s like to attend the USNA in order to decide if the lifestyle is something they could personally see themselves doing.
Members of the Jesuit Cheer Squad leave practice after tough conditioning. Grace Lahart (’21) says “doing pushups during conditioning is the hardest because our coaches have us do a lot so we are prepared for the many pushups we end up doing at the games.”
Perez says “I was originally thinking about applying there and now am interested in attending the Academy, so this was a good way to see what a midshipmen’s life would be like.”
In addition to attending the camp, Perez brought an aspect of her experience back to her daily life in Tampa. As one of the Varsity Jesuit Cheer Captains, she introduced the conditioning exercises she did at the USNA camp to her fellow teammates. The Jesuit Cheer squad has begun to do a combination of running, core, leg, and arm workouts.
Anna Warnke (‘20) says “it was very neat of Olivia to bring the exercises she learned at navy camp to our cheer practices. Although they are tough, they are making us an even stronger team.”
Perez’s experiences at the USNA Summer Seminar did a major service to herself, allowing her to grow as a person, experience things she had never done before, and share her experiences with her peers back home.
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