May 9 deadline for applications to the General Tommy Franks' Four-Star Leadership Institute

(OKLAHOMA CITY) – The May 9 deadline for applications to the General Tommy Franks' Four-Star Leadership Institute draws near for high school students seeking entry to the prestigious leadership program.

Only 50 students will be chosen to participate. They will meet with authors, politicians and global thought leaders, and participate in leadership training, policy debate and speech competition. Students will receive free travel, room, and board to the July 13-19 program.

$400,000 in scholarships will be available to the students. Three participants will receive full-tuition scholarships to the University of Texas – Arlington, and $20,000 in scholarship grants will be awarded to competition winners. Any of the 50 4SL participants who choose to attend Oklahoma Christian University will also receive a $1,000 per year scholarship for up to four years.

“This life-changing learning experience is the finest kind of investment in a young person’s character, education and commitment to a lifetime of leadership,” said Gen. Tommy Franks.

Since 2008, 4SL has welcomed 206 American high school students from 42 states and 32 international students. Kings, governors, senators, Olympic gold medalists and top national policy experts have mentored students in developing and demonstrating the core leadership principles of the program: character, common vision, communication, and caring.

Each session will follow curriculum designed to develop leadership skills and challenge students through team-building exercises, collaboration, spontaneous problem solving and competition. Excursions during the week will provide participants opportunities to further develop and employ those skills through cultural experiences and service projects.

This year’s Four Star Leadership competition offers students expert policy briefings so they may address those issues in persuasive speech and editorial contests, while collaborating in a model Student Congress. Students will investigate contemporary policy controversies ranging from energy policy to human rights.

To apply today, please visit http://fourstarleader.com/

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About the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum

The goal of the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum is to tell compelling stories of leadership, introduce historical topics in each exhibit, and to encourage study and debate concerning the leadership traits illustrated by the story. It is located in Hobart, Okla. For more information, visit www.tommyfranksmuseum.org.

Oklahoma Christian University

Oklahoma Christian University is recognized as one of the best universities in the western United States by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review.  The university offers undergraduate programs in more than 60 fields of study and graduate programs in business administration, engineering, ministry, and divinity.  In addition to its Oklahoma City campus, OC has study abroad opportunities in Europe, Honduras and the Pacific Rim.  We’re thrilled to welcome program participants to campus and proud they’ll call OC home for this important week. For more information, visit: http://www.oc.edu.

About the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA)

With offices in Dallas and Washington, D.C., the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, established in 1983. The NCPA's goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector. For more information, visit www.ncpa.org

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA)

With thousands of members across the state and a staff based in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs operates as an independent, nonprofit public policy research organization – a think tank – focused primarily on state-level issues. Throughout their 20 years of existence, the primary purpose of OCPA has been to educate the citizenry to equip them for self-government. They want to empower Oklahomans to lead the nation in the defense of freedom by providing fact-based public policy analysis that promotes free markets, limited government and entrepreneurial opportunity. OCPA publishes the conclusions from its research in the monthly policy journal Perspective and online at www.ocpathink.org. In turn, they promote those conclusions through an array of media – including radio, TV, Facebook and Twitter – that has steadily increased in breadth, scope and effectiveness. Today, within the arena of public policy and politics, OCPA is regarded as the flagship of the free-market movement in Oklahoma