How people threatening to blow up Serbia, dancing to A Whole New World, and trying to get an army of penguins changed my life.
People threatening to blow up Serbia, dancing to A Whole New World, and trying to get an army of penguins...sound like fun? LeadAmerica is a 10-day summer camp for leaders of tomorrow’s generation. It opens minds for middle school and high school students and, frankly, changes their lives. And, as a bonus, high school students receive two college credits.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Blake
I am a teacher in Pittsburg PA. I understand some of your concern. I am sending my daughter this year to a LeadAmerica program. She went to one last year too. I am sure your daughter will have a great time. Remember, people usually don't hand out compliments, but they are quick to complain. I use restaurants as an example and caught myself in the same act. It is great 99% of the time and unfortunately I don't say anything to them when it is. Even my favorite restaurant has a bad day. But let me get a bad meal just once and I am all over them. Point being is most people get vocal only about a complaint (justified or not I don't know). Very few sing anybody's praise. (which now reminds me to tell folks when things are good!)
What conference is your daughter going to? Maybe it is the same as my daughters.
27 - Rachel
What you said about the restaurant is right on point. I find myself doing the same thing! Anyway, my niece went to a Lead america program in June. She had nothing but great things to say about her time in DC with the group.
28 - kidsmom
Blake,
my daughter was going to do medical at Fordham with studies at Mt. Sinai in NY. Since my husband is a Dr.he made some phone calls to this hospital and found out it was a one day visit, a total of 1-2 hrs, including a tour.Not exactly what was described in the curiculum. As for "having a blast", that is not what we were sending her for.
As for the Journalism program, it's discription of this program was to go "BEHIND THE SCENES" at "network news stations".I know a parent who has their son at that program this week, and all they did so far was stand outside the CBS Morning news show, holding up signs, with one of the "counslers" trying to TALK their way inside, that didn't work. Again not exactly what was described in the curiculum. Is he having fun, yes, he loves "hanging out" with his new friends.He describes it as a camp with some cranky counslers. This is worth $3000? I will let everyone I know NOT to fall for this program.
29 - Mike
I am going to the Medicine Conference in about three and a half days. This is my third LeadAmerica conference. I come from a poor family, having grown up in New York City, with my mom working two jobs, we now live in an okay house in New Jersey. The LeadAmerica Foundation has given me scholarships to go to the conferences and I used money from my part-time job for everything else.
I have to agree with Maddy here. These conferences have been the best experience of my life. I have learned so much, have made so many new friends and grew as a person. I learned a lot about myself during these conferences, and what I want to do with my career. I enjoy meeting new people and learning new things. I ask questions to learn things at these conferences during the lectures.
Many of these kids who don't like them either don't listen during the lectures or did not make many friends or just did not give the conference their full attention. I always listen to these lectures, and listen to people before speaking. The keyword here, is: LISTENING. Listen to other people's views and other people when they speak. Don't be focus on your myspace or anything stupid during the conference. Focus on you and the people that speak to you and try and learn about what they say.
I am not a rich kid, just a thankful one, because of LeadAmerica helping me with my life.
30 - wow WHAT A PEICE OF SHIT!!!!!
WELL! i back form the medicine science and robotics at johns hoplins university and let me just say that i truly think it was the biggest joke i have ever seen in my life. im so sorry i wasted my parents money on this peice of shit and im never ever gong anywhere close to there again. first off al the speakers are paid off to say a hole bunch of bull shit to feed bull shit to kids. they eat it up. they were extremely boring and i wanted to catch up on the sleep i missed (gotta get up at damn 6 to take a shower and go to breakfast at 7. sounds like fun?) anyways! time to review the "medicin, science androbotics" part.medicine, was the simulation were you had to pick betweena spider bite and mrsa and rosacea and some other shit. wow, 2 hours to go through the whole entire medicine part. robotics was building a lego car and pushing cans out of a circle. BUT OH WAIT! it got cancelled! because they planned out everything so poorly that everything was cancceled because we ran out of time. like for the georgetown emt trainging. we were late, so we wasted 2 hours sitting in on stairs. which we also did for the foirth of july fireworks they thought started at 730. nope, started at 930. waited 3 1/2 on bricks outside the tiny maryland science center we visited. in the pourin rain were alot of kids caught colds because there was shelter to hold about 50 people and everyone waited outside of it in a thunder storm. we didnt even DO anyhthing science and we went knowhere interesting, and if we did we didnt see ANY of it because we were always RUSHING! they make sure you see every other camp going on with enough freedom they can walk all by themselves and play sports. did i mention we cant go outside when we have the 15 minutes f freedom, its either in your room or shaing a couch with 18 people. and the excuse for our program director mr. ezekial williams was "good leaders are flexible." screw yor williams you scumbag. scamming kids doesnt get old does it? also his speeches are boring as watching paint dry, so if your dumb enough to pay 3000 for a scam like i was, and you have him as your pd. your seriously screwed and need to bail out NOW! literally the biggest peice of shit program and i hope salamone goes bankrupt.
31 - funinthesun
Sorry for your awful experience. Just be thankful that you came home safley. Too many parents ,including myself, do not have much info on this program. This is why we need to continue these reviews.
32 - Jackson
Wow. I have never read a review like #30. Sounds like you should have never been invited to a leadership conference. What a foul mouth you have! Certainly not one of a future leader. I too am looking for information on leadership programs, but your comment is totally out of line with the profanity and anger.
33 - Jackson
Wow. I have never read a review like #30. Sounds like you should have never been invited to a leadership conference. What a foul mouth you have! Certainly not one of a future leader. I too am looking for information on leadership programs, but your comment is totally out of line with the profanity and anger.
34 - Blake
kidsmom,
I understand your concern. I don't send my daughter just for fun. After all I am a teacher, I can't afford to send her just for fun. She is at the medicine conference right now at Georgetown. I do know this, she will come back with information and knowledge that she did not have before. This may spark a further interest in medicine, or she may decide that she does not like it. I know of other students in the district that have went to Leadamerica conferences, the ones I have spoken with have enjoyed it and said that the learned quite alot.
I guess I have a different take on it then you and some of the others who claim to have went and use profanity and hateful language. I am a teacher, and I see students doing this type of thing all of the time. Tell them no, cancel a field trip, give them detention and BINGO! they are on the phone calling home. To me, I give that type of student review little credit. The meaner, the more hateful remarks, are 99 out of 100 times from the student who couldn't behave away from home.
35 - Cora'sDad
Comment #30 doesn't sound like a kid I my child around. If someone with such a foul mouth had a bad time, it doesn't surprise me.
36 - LA Victim
What a relief it is to find a place with all of these wonderful, TRUTHFUL comments and examples of how this "company" is out for a quick buck. Having been bullied and harassed by this company for more than 2 years after providing them with creative services, they used their law degrees to threaten lawsuits over intellectual property and information until I was forced to call a lawyer. They are horrible, mean people with no interest in young minds. They abuse others to get what they want and will stop at nothing when it comes to their money. I am so glad to see that so many here are openly sharing the same unfortunate stories about their dealings with Lead America. If enough people stop sending their kids there, maybe they will eventually just go out of business.
37 - Blake
LA Victim,
It sounds like you have more of a business complaint. This forum is for parents who want information about the academic programs. My daughter had a great time this summer, and I was impressed with the material she brought home. Have a child, send them to a program, and then give us your comments. It seems that you didn't have a problem with them when they were paying you based on your post. Let us, the ones with children who attended the programs or are going to attend, make the comments. I could talk about the business dealings of those unhappy with my School District, but it has no bearing on the quality of education my students receive.
38 - Alice
I sent my son to a conference this past year. He enjoyed it very much. He came back with renewed interest in business, and seemed to be very motivated by his experience. Even his behavior has changed, he is becomming more of a leader. He is a Junior and wants to attend another conference next year. If anyone has any questions, they can contact me about my son's experience. The staff was always very helpful to us during the whole process. I don't know what post the other post is about, it seems like more of a business to business issue. But as a parent, I can attest that my son greatly benefited from his LeadAmerica experience.
39 - Marie
My child is interested in the Theatre Arts program in New York. Has anyone participated in this seminar and how was it? Was it worthwhile?
40 - Lori
Wow, I just received a nomination letter from my 7th grade teacher to attend this conference. The thing that stumped me was the price...My Lord!!!
Of course, before I shell out money that I do not have, I am going to do my research and I am glad that I came across this site...
My son is anxious to go, but now that I am reading these comments.....I highly doubt he will attend. Does anyone know of any other "legitimate" programs similar to this one?
41 - Lori
I agree with #31 comments...
I am also a little leary sending my thirteen year old to New York or Boston, Mass...
I can't just hand off my son for 10 days and not know who the facilitators are or if they have criminal backgrounds...
My son is going to be heartbroken, but I think I am going to pass on this.
42 - its a scam.
My best friend just went to one of these programs, held by the same organization, except it was to see the inauguration of the president. I was invited as well, but had to turn the invitation down for financial reasons. Basically, they played games and sat around until the inauguration day, then woke up extremely early to catch a bus, and sat on the bus for hours and hours to get to the capital. They parked about a mile away from the actual inauguration, got out of the bus, and watched the inauguration on a television screen. (Did I mention it was raining and freezing cold?) Then they got back on the bus and went back to the hotel. My friend though it was a complete waste of time and vowed never to be scammed by this organization again. Well, it looks like they run another camp, and I get an odd sense of Deja Vu when I read over my invitation I got in the mail. There is no way I will be scammed like my friend was. I strongly think that if you are going to learn something, look elsewhere.
I actually have gone to one of these leadership conferences before, which was probably why I was invited to the one I just mentioned. Although you meet plenty of people, I did not learn ANYTHING from the experience, and my interest in becoming a leader was not increased at all. Most of the time we sat around using the limited knowledge we already had to try to put on a presentation; I ended up calling a friend back home to ask her to research topics for me.
I don't recommend this at all. It is a scam. I repeat, it is a SCAM!
43 - Dr Dreadful
(Did I mention it was raining and freezing cold?)
That's odd. I seem to recall a bright sunny morning. Cold, certainly, but there was no rain in DC on Inauguration Day.
44 - Dan
The following comment pertains to the: NATIONAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT (according to them, invite only), I really don't have any knowledge on the other conferences.
To be perfectly honest, I received a letter from LeadAmerica this afternoon regarding their National Leadership Conference, and I was astounded how terrible it sounded initially.
My first impression of that letter or propaganda promoting their programs, if you will, was that is was a scam. In the first sentence, they use that oh so often used phrase - "Your child has been chosen to represent the state of Michigan because...etc." (Not the exact words, but you catch my drift.)
Those sorts of exclusivity and limited enrollment ploys have been used for ages upon ages, from sneakers to toys. Anyone could have received an invitation to "represent the state".
I was only slightly skeptical, until I checked out the website online. 2500 dollars for a 10 day stay? Okay. Now that I've read some of these reviews, definitely a no go. To top that off, a conference for learning leadership skills/improving them?
Lets think about this. In the letter they state that I've been selected for my leadership skills, academics, and extracurricular activity involvement. Why would I pay 2500 dollars for a vacation to Washington DC for a "summit" and learn skills that I already possess, according to them. The seemingly computer generated invitation that they gave me puts me off as well, sounds like they just want to make a quick buck.
I have good grades, good social skills, and good leadership skills. Now, you're thinking, what if your kids don't possess good leadership skills, and want to improve them? That question in itself will throw off any defense of LeadAmerica. If a person doesn't possess such skills, and was invited, then obviously their mailing list was computer generated and/or bought from a marketing corporation.
Let's be honest, I don't need to pay 2500 dollars for a trip to DC, to make new friends, or learn leadership. I can live life, and learn it the way I was created to learn it. I'm not an ignorant person.
To top all that off, even if I were to go, I'd be forced to make up all of my summer football lifting, which is a bitch to catch up on.
45 - Andrea
I'm disappointed to read all of this! :(
I was very interested in attending the medicine and healthcare conference. I'm 17, a junior in highschool and receive very good grades, and I was flattered(though maybe a little suspicious) to receive such an inciting packet in the mail. My parents suspected their advertising to be just a scam, and advised me to do some research to see if it was legitimate.
This is sadly as I feared! It seems the only pros to this are the college credits, and hanging out with new friends on a college campus(not worth $3000.). Also, I believe that most universities KNOW that this program is phony, and will most likely dismiss the credits and completion of this program, thus, NOT helping you at all on your college application as much they make you think.
If anyone can help me, I am looking for medicine and healthcare specific leadership camp, with weight and credibility that I can really learn and grow from, one that colleges will take seriously. I would love something real. And not somewhere that accepts anyone who will put money in their pockets. Any advice?
Thank you so much for your reviews! I was almost roped into earning and fundraising all this money myself to pay, since its too expensive for my parents to just hand over, considering everything else they pay for with me and my 3 sisters, especially with one in college and another in grad school. What a sad waste of hard earned money that would have been!! Darn crooks.
Thanks again guys. :)
Andrea
46 - charliegirl
My son just received one of these letters yesterday, and he is so good, Gets good grades in school, always in some club, and is always on a sport at school. I wanted to do something to reward him, he wants to go into medical field thought this would be fun for him to, stay at Columbia University for a week now I don't know.
Has anyone attended this one in particular?
47 - CAgirl
I attended two Lead America conferences through the Presidential Youth Leadership Conference in D.C. at the Inauguration of G. W. Bush and the Democratic National Convention in Boston. I am currently a senior in college now, and I still look back fondly on these two experiences. The Lead America programs that everyone else attended must of been completely different then the two I attended. I have to say that those memories have stayed with me today, and still impress many today as well. I shook hands with John Kerry and stood within ten feet of George Bush, and also met countless celebrities and representatives at the DNC. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget, and I would recommend anyone these two programs. I have about two more months until I graduate and am currently applying for jobs in the political realm I have put down that I attended these programs on my resume and have received great responses. The Lead America programs are great experiences and have given me lifelong memories.
48 - Heyguys
I just got one of these letters right now and I was all excited until my friend said it might be a scam and I looked it up and now I saw all of this. thanks everyone. :)
49 - Mom
Has anyone attended the CSI:Forensic Science program at Johns Hopkins University? How was it?
50 - Dannygirl
wow,when i looked this up before i signed up, I saw nothing, now thats all i see. anyway i got references from kids that went and they loved it. my co-workers daughter went to one similar and said it was life changing.
I will let you know how it goes, she is going this summer.
maybe the particular camp you selected was not good. the responses I got where strickly from the camp that my daughter is going to
51 - unsure
I recieved a letter not so long ago and was very excited on going until I came across this site.
If I do plan on attending, I want to go to the one in China. Is this a good idea? Has anyone gone to this leadership confrence before? I need an answer fast! THANKS:)
52 - Seriously
These people are in all honesty desperate for your hard earned dollars. In an economy like this who can spend the exorbitant amounts of money they're asking for. And please parents don't be so completely gullible; its clear that many of you are proud of your children but this business is clearly a scam. In no way does a 10 day conference constitute several hundreds of dollars.
Think about it for all you know all the positive reviews on this site could be coming from a low level person in their association who has been tasked with spreading false information. How would you ever know if these positive reviews weren't being written by workers of this company. Purely being a scam doesn't mean this trip wouldn't be enjoyable, but in no way is it going to be educational. And remember college admissions officers are extremely smart, they're aware of these schemes and putting record of one of these trips on a resume would probably hurt more than help you.
53 - mjjj
I just got nominated for this and the application is due by Monday. Should I go? There are so many mixed reviews, but if this looks good for colleges i feel like i should attend, as long as financial aid is supplied. We are really tight on money right now, and i would really like some honest feedback about this program.
54 - Hey there
Yeah, I agree with comment #49. Has anyone been to ANY of the CSI: Forensic Science ? Please tell me about your experiences!! Thank you!
55 - hayley
Omg. I was going to sign up for this thing to go to australia/new zealand. i was so excited. After i read all of these comments i know now that you really can't trust people. You probably could go there for the 6 grand they were asking, by yourself and have much more of a great time.
56 - Arby Bee
I'm happy I found this info. However, I am wondering why the Better Business Bureau says there are only 5 complaints in 36 months:
LeadAmerica resolved 4 by "Agreeing to perform according to their contract" and 1 "Unassigned".
If you all filed your complaints, perhaps more people would be aware of the dissatisfaction.
57 - KID
listen, my friend told me she had a great time and learned so much. She went on field trips, made new friends and learned so much. Now I am going this summer and can't waittt
58 - KID
has anyone done the media journalism
59 - KID
also my cousin did this and said he had a greaT TIME AND WOULD DO IT again in a heart beat
60 - Kia Turner
For some background info on me, I attended the Lead America Law and Trial Advocacy program last year (2008) in Boston, and honestly it was the best time of my life. Every single one of the people that I met there were extremely intellectual, and had well developed political and social opinions. Over the short time of ten days, I learned so much. We conducted a mock trial on the second to last day, and even though my team ended up loosing, I don't think I have ever learned that much. The Team Leaders (TL's) were great, and taught us a lot about Law and life in general. Also, one of the greatest life lessons that I have learned so far was taught to me at Lead America. We had a guest speaker come in from Harvard Law, and one of the things that he said when he was talking about responsibility was about being independent. He basically told us that we can't rely on our parents to do things for us, and if kids get themselves stuck into sticky situations that they shouldn't let, or ask, their parents to bail them out. He used a football analogy, and I really remember that. I have tried really hard to put that lesson to use my freshman year (this year) and my parents have noticed that I am a lot more independent and responsible.
On top of all of the things that I learned there, I met some awesome friends that I still talk to almost a year later. These are people that I will never forget and I bonded so closely with them in only ten days. They were people that were a lot like me, all of them with great goals and ambitions for their lives, and they all wanted to get into great colleges like I do. It is a lot different from my home town, were counselors get excited if someone is accepted into the local community college. For me, it was almost a preview into college, something I am looking forward to.
As to off campus trips, I had a great time, we went to quincy market and feneuil(spell?) hall, and John Adams Courthouse, and the Mougley, and Harvard Square, and I had a ball during all of them. We also went on the freedom trail and we were allowed a lot of freedom as long as we were in groups of four.
There was a dance at the college, (Bentley University) and there was also a talent show, and they were both really fun, especially if you have fun kids in your group.
Honestly, if there is a kid that is really ambitious and has high goals, then they really need to find a way to pay for this trip. It is such a great experience, and though my family doesn't have a lot of money, I found ways to pay for my trip, and I am going back this summer to New York for the Global Business and Entreprenuership conference, and I am so excited. If some people have had bad experiences than, I am sorry but my experience was out of this world.
If you get the opportunity- find a way to go! (Its worth all of it and more)
61 - Bashn
Most everything I have to say has been said. This program is a scam. I went to their engineering and robotics conference last year. It was a joke. I learned nothing. It was a bad experience. Don't waste your money.
62 - KID
Its me again,
I am going to the Media Journalism camp in about 20 days and can't wait. I'm going with my friend who is going for her second year. This is my first. Last year, she said she had a great time and learned a lot. I will make a video commentary on what I am doing at the camp and put it on Youtube. There, you will actually get to see what the camp is like up front. Then you can really make up your minds
63 - KID
Also, i forget who said this but they said" I spent hours looking for the regerstration, but if you go on your lead America website it tells you where it is and it gives you a link to the map of a campus so that was your fault, not lead America's fault.
64 - KID
sorry i forgot to ends the quotes in my last message
65 - IGotALetterToo
When i got the letter from them, i was so happy ! I thought i was special, and an outstanding student, but it was all just a scam. I was prepare to waste my parents money, beacuase i mainly wanted the college credit. Thankfully,before going, my parents asked the college councelor at my school if he knew what teacher may have selected me for this " amazing opportunity". Well, he did a little research, and sent me a dissapointing e-mail, informing me that no one picked me, and that actually the whole thing was a scam. I was really sad, and i felt like an idiot because i got so excited for it, but it ended up being some wrip off. I must say, that anyone who goes, should at least research it, before putting a big dent in their parents bank account. For those of you that are reading these coments and still going to the camp, wow. Ha ha , because why would peoplpe lie about this being a scam ? If it wasn't a scam, would horrible students be selected for this " amazing " camp ? I don't think so.
I hope you make the right decision...
66 - just saying.
I had a friend who was at LeadAmerica and she texted me and a bunch of my friends asking for our addresses for a "awesome leadership thing". I can only assume that asking their participants to text their friends for personal information is just one of the reasons why receiving an invite means absolutely nothing. If you're looking for a summer program that REALLY is beneficial, try the John's Hopkins CTY program. It's three grand and three weeks, but totally worth it. You spend about six hours a day in a classroom with a college professor. I enrolled in a writing class there, and I learned more in those three weeks about writing than I have so far in high school. you do have to test in by achieving a certain score on the SAT or ACT, so going is actually an honor, not just the work of a 16 year old's texting plan.
67 - Freaking out and extremely nervouse
I just typed in lead America and googled it when all of tese things about it being a total Scam. My theater conference is next week July 13 at forham university. At my school I'm friends with pretty much everyone. I admit it is made up of 60 girls so it's not very hard to know everybody but still, for me being afraid of meating new people that's pretty good. This is supposed to be a life changing experience but when you see on the internet the testomonials of some of the alumni it kinda makes me wonder what I've gotten myself into. I just need someone to reasure me that I'm not making a huge mistake.
68 - KID
Freaking out and extremly nervouse, its okay i did the media journalism one there was the acting session with us and i had so much fun. I a;so went to fordam and i made so many friends and learned a lot. I made friends from the acting one and they all said they liked it. you see brawdway shows and a lot of other fun stuff. Tell me ur room number cuz we mite have the same room. O and go in the lounge w/ the ping pong table on the fourth lounge. Thats where a lot of funny stuff happened. Its rite by the elevators. I hope you have fun cuz i did.
69 - Another Mom
You/your kids only live once. If you can afford to pay for this program. Do it.
If it's a mistake, then it will prevent larger mistakes in the future as your kids will learn to be skeptical. If it turns out to be a great experience, then i don't need to explain. Remember, the experience is in the eyes of the beholder and his/her attitude.
70 - Julia
I went in the beginning of the Summer. I enjoyed it but I do have to admit, we weren't allowed on our own that much. When we visited Union Station, we ate downstairs at the food court. Some of the girls I met saw an awesome tshirt that we all wanted so we all went upstairs to buy them. My TL called me on my cell phone telling us to come back downstairs, she told us to sit down because we were in a lot of trouble. she said that no one told us we could go upstairs, but no one told us we couldn't. I think kids should get that advantage because we are kids and we don't know any better. Luckily, in the end it was ok and no one was in trouble but if you go, ask your TL if its ok to go somewhere, even if its the bathroom! Some of the speeches were really boring but one was really awesome. I would definitely go back next Summer.
71 - Diane
Hi! My husband just dropped my son off this morning at the Confernece in New York City. "Leadership University" My son will be a Junior in High School in September. He has never been away from home to a camp of any kind before but, he is excited. He called me and told me the dorms were not that clean and I laughed. I think he expected it to be like home. I am sure this will be a life changing expierience for him and I for one am happy that they keep these kids under wraps. New York City is not the safest place in the world. Also, I am sure Lead America Staff just wants to keep the kids safe. My son has been on many trips to many places and is a very responsible young man so it is most likley that he will be getting whater there is to be gotten out of this program if there is anything to be gotten out of it. I will keep You updated throughout the week.
P.S. Leaders wake up early
Leaders are Responsible
Leaders listen
A Leader doeas not mean you are free to do whatever you please. Going to a leadership program does not mean you are a grown up and you are capable of being the kind of leader this program is trying to teach you to be.
I really think that alot of these negative posts may be from kids that are misinformed to what the definition of a "Leader" really is!
Diane
72 - jen
Look at Lead America Facebook page and you will get an idea of how wonderful the Lead America programs are....Everything that has been written is totally positive and just look at all of the pictures of the kids...they all look happy. So for anyone that had a horrible time, maybe you should look at yourself. Life is all about making choices and sometimes those choices include taking it upon yourself to enjoy life and try to find the positive in all of your experiences.
73 - Diane
Hi! This is from my #71 post
My son's first day went well. He met a lot of nice kids and he really liked his roomate. Unfortunately the friends he had met and his roomate were not in his group.
He was very upset that first night and thought he was going to have a terrible time. I even tried to talk to the counselors to see if he could get his schedule changed but they would not budge! I was very upset when I went to bed that night. The next night my son called us and said he had an O.K. day because he was in classes all day but he did learn alot and it was getting much better. The third night we told him we were going to come to the closing ceromonies and they said you could take your child home late that night.This was Monday the 27th and it was his 16th birthday! My son called us the night before and said he wanted to stay until Tuesday the last day!
He was having a great time and had met so many new friends and he didn't want to leave! I guess all of my bickering to the counselor was unwarented. Now I feel like a dope! The counselors were 100% correct!!!
They know what they are doing and they know how to run a succesful program. My husband picked my son up and he was so upset that he had to leave his new friends. I for one would definatly recommend this program. This was my son's first real time away from home by himself. I felt that he was safe, cared for and learned alot. Lead America.org
you have my vote!!! Thanks A Million!!!
74 - Former TL
Allow me to put my two cents in: While I was never a student at Lead America, I was a team leader for two years. I worked with the diplomacy program in 2006 and the intelligence defence and national security program in 2007, both with high schoolers exclusively. I have also gone to and worked at two other more traditional summer camps as well as being a student at Presidential Classroom, a program in some ways similar and different in others to Lead America. With regard to youth programs, I have seen a lot, from both sides of the clipboard so to speak. To address some of the allegations made here let me first say that yes, Lead America is a pretty blatant pyramid scheme. They rely on many of their customers being referred by past participants both by word of mouth and what amount to "forced nominations." Toward the end of the program, all of the students are in one of the lecture halls and receive nomination forms and they are required to "nominate" at least three people they know. This is not enforced in anyway accept that there are three names with some form of contact info on each sheet. I remember one student actually nominated Adolf Hitler in one program. The staff saw this as somewhat humorous only in that the student resorted to such hyperbole, not to mention the fact that we all knew the particular student and we weren't particularly surprised based on their attitude throughout the program. Onto the next allegation of being treated variably as if they are in a detention center, a goolag (sp?), or under the care of nazis; this is a simple case of perspective and lack of understanding of the realities of acting in loco parentis (in place of parents) for several hundred high school students. I have gone to and worked at traditional summer camps, and I can certainly tell you all that students at Lead America have far more freedom than even the counselors at those aforementioned camps (at least when on duty). If my memory serves me correctly there was no more and quite probably less freedom at Presidential Classroom. While I can't speak for any of those on this board who have made the claim, most of the students who claimed it while actually at one of the conferences I was working at were generally involved in some kind of behavior contrary to the rules and were caught and appropriately. This kind of belief, as I mentioned before, is a result of kids (in most cases that is what they really are) not understanding the realities that people caring for large numbers of minors face, both from their insurers as well as legal authorities. The conferences I was with were hosted in Washington DC and Manhattan, NYC, NY. Both are major cities, and in both cases, you can easily walk just a few blocks in the wrong direction from a very safe area and end up in a very bad area. DC is specifically bad for this. I am not aware of any program for youths, summer or otherwise, that does not require those youths to stay in groups of some size and stay within very distinct boundaries. If something horrible happens, the staff must be able to quickly locate all of the students in what could quickly become a very frenzied environment, and students being alone or outside of very defined areas make that very close to impossible to ensure. I will grant that some students coming from big cities or who have spent time there might be better equiped to handle being alone in a large city than some staff members, but these are the exceptions, and the staff is still ultimately responsible for the safety and wellbeing of what the law of the land consider minors.
Onto the Academics: In my experience, with these kinds of summer programs, Lead America differs from Presidential Classroom, in that the emphasis is less on hearing famous/pseudo-famous people speak and more on the simulation and leadership activities. The first summer I worked at Lead America, I thought the leadership activities were a complete crock and a waste of time. They are hokey and in many cases oversimplified. However, the second year I worked for them, I gained a better understanding of those activities, and appreciated the fact that, if approached properly, the vast majority of those activities do illustrate important leadership qualities. In my opinion, the simulation can be either excellent, or useless, depending on its execution. I was not a fan of the Kosovo simulation because there was no real way for the students to impact the course of the simulation since it was held almost exclusively to the actual course of historical events. This was interesting the first session, but after that it got repetitive. Granted, I, unlike the students, went through it more than once. The Intelligence, Defense, and National Security simulation, on the other hand was excellent. It was a somewhat plausible situation based on conceivable, though unlikely, circumstances so there was nothing holding the simulation to a specific course. The way the students wanted to go drove the simulation and their successes made things easier and their mistakes led to a more challenging situation. As a staff member, my personal favorite parts of this simulation were two events, one halfway through the program and one at the end, where the team leaders acted as either members of the press or members of congress on a congressional oversight committee and asked the students to justify their actions throughout the simulation. While at times these events could become adversarial, they were never malicious and so the stress they caused was a great learning experience. The simulation can tend to be dominated by a few people within a given team who happen to be more aggressive/confident, however, if a given student has a good attitude, and something to contribute, they can become an integral part in the way the team approaches the simulation from the particular group they are representing. The best groups tend to be those where the vast majority of the group are actively participating and not resigning themselves to the corner of the room to socialize or sulk. While ideally, the Team Leader will be able to recognize those students who want to participate but feel overshadowed, the reality is that we are not omniscient or mind-readers or even able to see everything happening in a large room all at once. In some cases it comes down to the student needing to figure out how to insert themselves into the discussion, and if they have something to offer, defend their point, and that virtually always leads to them becoming a contributing member of the team. This might be an intimidating proposition for some, but it is a valuable lesson to learn that will serve them very well throughout their academic careers and the rest of their lives. If they find themselves unable to do it for themselves and the Team leader doesn't immediately jump to their aid for whatever reason, they should take it upon themselves to ask the team leader for help. Whether the simulation is one of the most rewarding experiences of the summer or one of the biggest wastes of time depends almost entirely on how the student approaches it (or does not) much as the high school and subsequently college experiences.
The lectures, as I mentioned earlier are not necessarily what they are billed as by the promotional material. I can't speak for the other programs, but the ones that I worked with generally only had a few "movers and shakers" from the "field," while most of the lectures were delivered by professors. The professors are generally pretty good, though I did have a near angry outburst from myself when one professor stated, as if stating a fact, that Saddam Hussein never used WMD, um hello? he gassed the Kurds with nerve gas. In spite of this, you get the same mix of abilities in lecturers that you can expect in college. Some are absolutely amazing; some are abysmal, and most are pretty good. Powerpoints are used extensively as they are in most classrooms, boardrooms, and presentations of all kinds. Again you get the same mix of skills: some commit murder by powerpoint, some really know what they're doing, and most can get the job done pretty well. This next bit applies to all of the lectures but especially those delivered by professors: the lectures are intended for a mass audience from the age group present. There will be some that due to an impressive intellect or lots of study and reading on a topic who will be well-beyond the lecture and might be bored. There will be others over whose heads the lecture goes and they will be either bored, confused, or they might rise to the occasion, take notes, listen, ask questions for clarification and get something out of it. However, the lecture is generally right on target for the majority of students. The lectures are like any other, as well as the rest of the program, you get out of it what you put into it. If you listen attentively, ask questions, and remain engaged, you will learn. As a rising junior and senior in college, I still walked away from most lectures have learned something. Parents: not to say that your son or daughter isn't brilliant, but if they claim that they couldn't learn anything from a college professor while they are still in high school, they couldn't have been paying attention, whether due to lack of interest or arrogance, a lecture is still a lecture, and to learn from it you must actively listen. As a side note, many on this board have mentioned lecturers who talk about nothing more than why their school is great; these are not lectures. These are info sessions conducted by the college hosting the conference. They are stipulated by the contract between the college and Lead America. Not having been a party to the negotiation of those contracts, I don't know if they were demanded by the colleges outright or if it was an offer made by Lead America to defray the cost of using the college's facilities.
As far as the costs involved, first thing to realize is the Lead America is a business and they are out to make a profit. However, this does not mean that the program you pay for is a scam, just because the people who put it on seek to gain a profit. Students, by the nature of their lack of experience with such things generally don't appreciate the cost of things that they (based on their comments on this board) seem to take for granted. I have seen a lot of comments about activities which "cost no money" however, the simple use of a lecture hall is not free. I am not aware of the specific costs, but every facility used, every dorm room slept in, every meal (sub-par though it may be but hey its college cafeteria food) costs money. When students think its free to hear a lecture, the lecturer gets paid. When students think that seeing the monument in DC is free, the busses are certainly far from free. All of the staff also need to be paid, from those the students meet to those whose names they never even hear. The uniforms, communications equipment, and presentation materials the team leaders are issued must be paid for. I am not saying that these programs are cheap. i think that $2500 or $3000 dollars for ten days plus travel arrangements and spending money is pretty steep. Granted the base price of the seven week, sleepaway camp I went to for six years and worked at for two, where the living arrangements are far less impressive costs in excess of $10,000 before any additional fees, some of which are mandatory. I am not saying that it is cheap, but it is not too far removed from other options for youth summer programs available. Also, please don't be swayed toward this program because of the college credit offered. It is not accepted at many schools, and where it is it is basically useless. One of the most distasteful things I ever had to do as a staff member was try to get parents to spend extra money for one extra credit; DON'T DO IT.
On a final note, every program, product and company has detractors and people who had a bad experience. Bear in mind that there may be a few dozen people here that have had a less than stellar experience to the point that they are here complaining about it. Last I heard, two years ago, over 11,000 students had been through Lead America programs, and I would estimate that that number is closer to 15,000 now after two summers with an ever increasing offering of programs. When put in contrast with those numbers, a few dozen which we can assume to be representative of maybe a couple hundred students is not a very large number. The vast majority of students do have a great experience and do learn a good deal. In this less than stellar economy we are now in, it is up to you parents to decide if this program is worth the money. I hope I have helped to provide a point of view that I have yet to see on these boards, one that has seen a variety of youth summer programs, has been both a participant/camper/student as well as a staff member. For those of you who are particularly interested I am currently 23 years old, and I graduated University of Delaware with an Honors Degree with Distinction in International Relations in May 2008.
75 - Former TL
Oh, I forgot to mention: Salamone. He is quite the piece of work. He is an excellent business man as evidenced by his fantastic wardrobe, custom-made shirts, and generally the Lead America empire he built from scratch. He makes an excellent first impression to most students and staff with his speach. It is full of mostly valid lessons with stories to go along with them. However the more times you hear it the more you realize that it's the exact same speach just in a different order each time. There is one particular story about a young girl with terminal cancer who attended a program and both years that I worked at Lead America, she apparently died the previous December. The more times you hear him speak, the more you realize that he is a life-size parody of a motivational speaker with a great business savvy. That being said, he is a pretty nice person who I enjoyed having a few drinks with at a pool party hosted by a former diplomat freind of his in between sessions. If I've shattered an illusion, I am sorry, but I wanted to give my completely honest opinion about Lead America and he is certainly a big part of it.