Three Summit seniors, Henry Green ’23, Reagan Heard ‘23 and Joseph Federle ’23, attended summer youth programs designed to expose them to the responsibilities of leadership through an educational experience. Buckeye Boys is sponsored by the Ohio American Legion and Buckeye Girls is a product of the Ohio American Legion Auxiliary.
Students involved in the program were given several types of leadership opportunities that highlight operational and structural aspects of the US government. While every student entered the same environment, each was able to find their own niche.
Henry chose to run for office and was elected to the State House of Representatives. He also served as the secretary of the House Committee of Finance. His roles were to sponsor, debate and vote on bills while also maintaining detailed logs of each meeting he had. In just two days, Henry had to make enough meaningful connections with the students at Boys State to secure their votes. With minimal knowledge of their backgrounds prior to the program, he sought to connect with those around him regardless of whether they shared commonalities. Henry credits campaigning for himself during the program as an important learning opportunity.
“This will help me to be confident in unfamiliar situations, or when surrounded by people with seemingly little in common,” he says.
Joseph worked in the camp’s social media department called Hetuck. His role included learning the format and tone of their magazine before publishing content. Along with his leadership roles, Joseph emphasized how much he was able to learn about how the government functions on both state and city levels. While the experience is centered around a government atmosphere, he also underlined the important lessons he learned in time management.
“I would encourage any present junior to attend,” Joseph says. “It is an experience you will never forget, and you will make some friends that you will keep in contact with for years to come.”