Summer leadership conferences allow Ream and Van Dop to explore different sides of personality.

Worthington Christian’s Ayres Ream (WC ’26) and Aaron Van Dop (WC ’25) went into two leadership conferences last summer, thinking of themselves as one thing, then discovering they were another.

Van Dop, who attended the Buckeye Boys State on the campus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, wanted to be a judge at the program but discovered he was far better as a lawyer. Ream went to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership conference at Marietta, thinking she was shy, but she tested out as a “daredevil” on a personality test.

“I originally was going to try to be on the (Buckeye Boys State program’s) Supreme Court, but after I lost the election, I became a private attorney,” Van Dop said. “That experience helped me realize I want to be a lawyer, so now I plan on going into pre-law studies next year.”

“At the beginning (of the Hugh O’Brian Leadership Conference), they handed out a paper with different characteristics,” Ream said. “We had to circle our characteristics and they divided us into categories – constructor, daredevil, analyst, and counselor. I had a lot of traits for each one, but I had more in Daredevil, which surprised me (because I consider myself to be an introvert.)”

Upper School counselor Cynthia Durbin said the conferences helped Ream and Van Dop grow as leaders.

“These summer programs give students the unique opportunity to meet and interact with new people, to grow in their leadership strengths, and to gain the confidence to be effective leaders in their communities,” Durbin said.

Established by the American Legion in 1936, Buckeye Boys State is one of the largest programs of its kind nationally. With over 1,200 high school students from over 600 high schools statewide, it is regarded as one of the most comprehensive government programs in the country.

At Buckeye Boys State, students participate in a community complete with banks, school boards, highway patrols, court systems, and a government. The organization hopes to provide high school students with management and leadership skills that will help them function no matter which career field they choose and expose them to the experience of living on a college campus.

“What the students learn through an intense experiential learning environment in one week is considered to surpass a semester of learning in a traditional classroom,” Durbin said.

Van Dop said the experience was “like (Junior Achievement’s) Biz Town on steroids.”

“It’s like a week-long simulation of how government works,” Van Dop added. “We stayed at a college campus, so each dorm is considered a different county, and then each floor in the dorm is a different city. Each delegate gets assigned a job for the week.

“Everybody is different, but you can use your strengths and personality to make a difference.”

Van Dop found his niche in the legal side of the community. In one of his first cases, he was embroiled in a contract dispute between his city and another city.

“The other city’s government broke the contract, so we ended up suing them for breach of contract and, since they ripped up the contract, destruction of private property,” he said. “It was cool because you got to experience real-life cases with real people.”

At the end of the week, Van Dop earned a Citizenship Award for “outstanding contributions made during the annual government workshop,” the best attorney award, and was named president of the Bar Association, while his firm garnered the best firm distinction.

Van Dop said his experiences analyzing texts, forming debate strategies, and logical reasoning at Worthington Christian helped him excel at Buckeye Boys State.

“I feel I can read a lot of stuff and remember it well,” he said. “Some of the classes I’ve taken here, like AP literature and U.S. History, helped me analyze information and develop a cohesive argument on the spot.”

Nearly 250 miles away from Oxford, Ream participated in the HOBY Conference in Marietta, an event open to current high school sophomores.

Durbin sent an email to all students going into their junior year and their families, soliciting names of students who have exhibited “a heart for compassionate leadership as well as a commitment to volunteerism.”

Ream said spending four days with 150 strangers made her feel apprehensive.

“Before we got to Marietta, I was fine, but once we stopped to eat in the town, I couldn’t eat because I was nervous,” she said. “I’m an introvert, so being around many new people scared me.

“But I was very determined to enjoy it.”

At the HOBY, students are made aware of their leadership strengths as they participate in facilitated dialogues and workshops. According to the website, “One weekend at a HOBY seminar unlocks a student’s leadership potential and helps them gain the confidence to make a positive impact on the world around them.”

Ream said one of the aspects of the conference she enjoyed was a broad array of motivational speakers. As soon as the HOBY finished, she turned around and headed to a second camp, a Pharmacy Camp at Ohio Northern University for students interested in pursuing a career in pharmacology,

Ream noticed a difference in herself because of her experiences at the HOBY.

“Usually, when I go to something like that, it takes me three or four days to make friends,” she said. “I made good friends (at Pharmacy Camp), ones that I still talk with, right away.

“One of my big takeaways (from the HOBY) is that everybody is different, but you can use your traits and personality to make a difference.”