Tori White

Summertime for a high school student normally consists of hanging out with friends, days at the pool and possibly a summer job to earn extra cash. Tori ’19 has spent the majority of her summer in the classroom, but not just any classroom. The University of Cincinnati selected Tori to join the Lindner Summer Institute. The Lindner Summer Institute is a leadership camp where students stay on UC’s campus for a week and learn about local businesses, create and present projects to peers and family, and ultimately experience college life with other students from all over the world. Tori says, “The people were amazing! I met people from New York, California, Thailand, Peru and even Jordan. We made such a close bond, we still chat every day through a group message.” The group went on excursions, including trips to Great American Ballpark to learn about the business side of the Cincinnati Reds organization, a visit to Ernst & Young (Tori’s favorite) and a trip to Winton Woods Intermediate school to work with students. At Winton Woods Intermediate, Tori and the 30 other high school students in the Lindner Camp organized and put on a talent show. Tori was actually in charge of the entire event. “I loved working with the kids. I helped put the show together and was able to get a prize for the participants by collecting sunglasses from the other campers. The Lindner Camp gave us all different trinkets and instead of us holding on to them, I thought it was a good idea to give them to the kids at Winton Woods.”

Tori likes to work with kids. Even before her experience at the Lindner Summer Institute, Tori has been a regular volunteer at the Friars Club. “I started volunteering at Friars Club as a freshman. Tionna ’19 told me about coaching a basketball team. I ended up coaching a 2^nd grade team and I fell in love!” Tori not only coached a team her first year, but she went back again her sophomore year and coached again. Because of her involvement at the Friars Club, Annie Timmons asked her to help run their summer camp, and Tori jumped at the opportunity. “When I was asked to run the camp, I found out I wasn’t going to be paid and I was totally fine with that! I just love being with the kids and at Friars Club. I am up to over 100 service hours for this summer already and camp goes all the way through July.”

Tori’s enthusiasm radiates from her smile as she talks about her experiences this summer. Ms. Rosfeld sees Tori’s accomplishments and cannot wait to see what the future holds for her. “Tori is a real go-getter. I was so impressed by the way she handled the challenge of her first AP class this past year. She does not ever back down from a challenge! She is highly motivated and driven to be successful, but never at the expense of her kindness and genuine interest in others. I was so proud but not surprised that Tori was given the Participatory Leadership Award at the Lindner Summer Institute. She lives the Franciscan values every day in the way that she is fraternal, accepting and hospitable to her classmates. It’s going to be fun to watch her continue to grow into an effective and highly respected leader!”

Tori has always thought about her future. She wants to be successful and hopes to pursue a college degree in Business at a school far away. “My parents want me to stay at UC now that I have had the experience there this summer. I still don’t know where I want to go. I am interested in Tuskegee and Howard. I’m open to change and nothing scares. I know that there are ups and downs in life. I just have to be prepared, be myself, and have fun.”

Roger Bacon is made up of many faces, different faces. We hope to showcase a wide range of our Spartans as possible. If you would like to nominate a Spartan, past or present, to be featured as a Face of RB please click here