State Leadership Seminars

About State Leadership Seminars
HOBY State Leadership Seminars welcome school and community nominated student ambassadors to 3-4 day seminars each spring and summer. These high school sophomores explore their personal leadership skills and values, and practice those skills while collaborating with diverse groups. They leverage their new abilities as they apply the value of service leadership to make a positive impact in their communities. Held on college or university campuses, our programs give students a taste of college life while they dive into our engaging and FUN leadership development curriculum.
Seminar Curriculum
The State Leadership Seminar curriculum guides student ambassadors as they explore leadership through a three-phase process: personal leadership, group leadership, and service leadership.
Personal Leadership
First, student ambassadors explore their personal leadership style. In this phase, student ambassadors unlock their potential through self-discovery and reflection.
After completing the personal leadership curriculum, student ambassadors will be able to:
- Understand their leadership strengths and values
- Have the confidence to speak up about their values and ideas
- Identify a purpose that motivates them as a leader


Group Leadership
In the second phase, student ambassadors apply their newfound awareness to their interactions with others. Through this process of learning about others’ leadership abilities, identifying common goals, overcoming team obstacles, and developing an understanding of diverse perspectives, student ambassadors develop their group leadership skills.
After completing the group leadership curriculum, student ambassadors will be able to:
- Believe others see them as a leader
- Identify leadership strengths in others
- Work with others to identify a common purpose
- Include others by seeking different perspectives
- Work with others respectfully, even when they disagree
Service Leadership
HOBY student ambassadors apply their newfound understanding of personal and group leadership to serving others. In the service leadership phase, student ambassadors are challenged to make an impact on their local community. Here, they learn about the perspectives of community leaders and the value of making a positive difference within the place they call home.
After completing the service leadership curriculum, student ambassadors will be able to:
- Acknowledge how their actions impact others
- Take the steps to create positive change in their community


Leadership For Service
Student ambassadors truly put their service leadership learning into action after the seminar concludes. New HOBY alumni are challenged to complete 100 hours of service to their communities in the year following their seminar. These Leadership for Service (L4S) hours are a tangible way for our new alumni to apply their passion and newly built leadership skills toward making a positive impact. Over 5,000,000 service hours have been logged by HOBY alumni since 1998, and that number continues to grow with HOBY alumni logging thousands of hours of service each year. As a certifying organization for the Presidential Volunteer Service award, we honor hundreds of students each year as they complete their service challenge.
Program Outcomes
Have Questions?
If you have any questions or would like more information about our State Leadership Seminars or any HOBY programs, please let us know. We look forward to connecting with you!