HOBY ALA is NOT a scam. Buckeye Girls State is.
Hello, I am a senior at my high school and am about to go to ALA this week. Has anyone on this forum actually attended HOBY? Did you know that students going to their local seminar are still required to pay for this leadership program? But, the school usually covers that price.
Now, I have also gone to Buckeye Girls State. Firsthand, I have experienced how terribly this promotes leadership skills. It's politics. That is all it is. In the beginning, you learn about your government. Then, you get to act like a politician. "Act" as a politician. Are all politicians good leaders? No. Did all students at Buckeye Girls State act as good leaders? No. When I attended, people were sneaking out, sending massive nude pictures to their boyfriends. We had ONE person keeping track of 45 people.
HOBY, on the other hand, has a lot more security when it comes to this. You have smaller groups, making it more of a one-on-one experience. You actually learn leadership skills. Guest speakers come in, panelists come in and talk to you and interact with you.
At BGS, none of that happened. There was no one on one experience. Nobody legitimately "cared" about my individual interests. In all reality, it became full of cliques and irresponsible teenage girls who had no interest in the government. HOBY is about how volunteer service can change the world for the better. Buckeye Girls State? That was about politics.