Brain Gain program continues to inspire

Every summer, a group of teenagers from the Boys & Girls Club of Hilton Head Island spends a couple of weeks doing things they might not normally get a chance to do and meeting people they might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet.

That’s the idea behind Brain Gain of Hilton Head, a nonprofit summer enrichment program for low-income, high-achieving teenagers. Each year, staff at the club selects a group of about 20 teens who fit those criteria, and they spend part of their summer at Hilton Head Preparatory School.

They learn to play chess, study literature, cook, play sports, create arts and crafts, and learn more about their cultures, all while having fun and breaking down barriers between private and public school life.

This year’s group included 17 students ages 13 and 14.

“I teach chess, and a lot of the kids have never played before,” Brain Gain founder Dr. Robert Sulek said. “In a week, we can get them to play competitively. They really enjoy that.”

Brain Gain was founded in 2002 by Sulek, a longtime Hilton Head Preparatory teacher who has officially retired but cannot seem to hang up his teaching hat. Sulek teaches chess and philosophy part time at the school and continues to lead his favorite summer program nearly 25 years later.

Sulek runs the program with the help of Hilton Head Preparatory middle school science and global studies teacher Sarah Benedik and her husband, Stacy, who have been with him since the beginning.

Two recent Hilton Head Preparatory graduates, the valedictorian and salutatorian, as well as Sulek’s daughter, Anna Sulek, helped with this year’s program.
As the saying goes, it takes a village.

Sulek has built quite a village over the past 24 years. From the food to the activities, nearly everything is donated. Truffles donates boxed lunches for one day each year. Outside Hilton Head donates kayak tours. The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina donates tickets to a show each year. This year, a $2,000 grant, “A Literacy Initiative for Tomorrow’s Leaders,” from Dollar General paid for books and supplies for Brain Gain.

Local community members also volunteer their time. One is Linda Wellenbach, who leads self-awareness and social-emotional activities with the girls. Another is Ken Weisner of Beach Play Company, who donates his services by leading team-building activities with the students.

The schedule varies from year to year. Some years have included dance classes and tours of the Lowcountry. This year, Brain Gain participants created bookends in a woodworking class, blended essential oils in an aromatherapy class, made their own T-shirts and saw “Mean Girls” at the Arts Center. Extreme heat prevented their annual kayaking trip, but the students did not let that get them down.

Anna, a Hilton Head Preparatory alumna and recent graduate of the University of Lynchburg, taught cooking, aromatherapy and carpentry during this year’s Brain Gain.

“I think arts and crafts have been one of their favorite things,” Anna said. “Even the guys have blown me away with their artistic ability. Some of them were saying they’re channeling Picasso and Van Gogh.”

When asked what they enjoyed most about this year’s program, the teens said they loved playing kickball, painting their bookends, learning to play chess, and making guacamole and quesadillas. A couple of them even said they made quesadillas at home.

Each student received three new books related to this year’s theme, building a library that highlights Hispanic and African American history, heritage and culture.
Sulek likes to remind the Brain Gain students that no matter their background, where they live or where they go to school, they can do great things in life.

“You can accomplish a lot if you do it to the best of your ability and put in the time,” Sulek said.

Amy Coyne Bredeson of Bluffton is a freelance writer, owner of Red Letter Tees, a mother of two and a volunteer with the TSC Alliance.