PHILADELPHIA – Most college students sleep in during the summer.

Not Sam Accardi.

The La Salle senior can be found on any given sunrise during the summer months whipping up breakfasts at Samuel's Pancake House in North Wildwood, N.J. Sam's father founded the restaurant over 30 years ago and has been a breakfast hub for Wildwood residents and vacationers ever since.

Anytime Accardi heads back home for summer vacation, he reassumes his role as kitchen manager.

“I've grown up living that in the summer, just always going in there cooking in the mornings,” Accardi said. “It's definitely a fun experience and I've learned a lot of leadership abilities as well as how to teach people how to cook.

“I've learned how to cook myself so it's something I love and I continue to do it.”

Accardi's passion for cooking was clearly exhibited in his first college choice: the Culinary Institute of America. However, after spending a short time at CIA, the cooking enthusiast quickly discovered his passions lied away from the kitchen and began considering other options.

“I realized that I didn't want to be in a kitchen for the rest of my career and it wasn't the right path for me,” Accardi said. “I realized that I was more interested in healthy foods and how foods affect your body. So, I looked into La Salle's nutrition program and acknowledged that it was one of the best on the east coast so I enrolled in that program.”

Since enrolling, Accardi has performed exceptionally well in the classroom and will graduate as a four-year member of the tennis team. Last month, Accardi received the Academic Excellence Award at the Year-End Banquet, given to the senior student-athlete with the highest grade point average.

His is a 4.0.

In addition to his tennis commitment, Accardi was a resident assistant on campus this year and finds time to play his guitar in the chapel choir.

“I remember when I was a freshman I was overwhelmed with everything,” Accardi said. “Now that I'm a senior, I really don't think twice about it. It just kind of comes natural to do all of these things.”

Head tennis coach Ed Colfer admires Accardi's ambition and views the senior as an instrumental member of his squad.

“I always tell my players that they should get involved with as much as they can off the court and really become a student-athlete,” Colfer said. “Sam is the true definition of that. He sets a great example with everything he does.”

Accardi will walk alongside nearly 1,000 of his peers on May 19 at commencement but he believes his educational journey is just beginning.

“I plan on attending graduate school and I plan on doing nutritional research and eventually teaching at a university and giving back to young aspiring nutritionists like myself,” Accardi said.” I'd like to give them an opportunity to work in a research lab and see the research end of nutrition.”

Doesn't sound like a young man interested in sleeping in this summer, either.