"During the beginning of my sophomore year, I was presented with an application that would eventually change my life. The application was for the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) seminar. At the time, I really did not know a lot about the program. I understood that it was a leadership seminar, and since it was my second year as class president, I thought I might benefit from going. Teachers and counselors told me how amazing it would look on a college application and encouraged me to fill out the application. So I filled out the fairly short application and wrote a short essay, and about a week or two later, I was informed that I had been selected as my school’s HOBY ambassador. That following summer, I attended the seminar. The experience was one that I will never forget. Within less than an hour’s time, I had fallen in love. The high concentration of such an outstanding caliber of individuals was overwhelming. I looked around me and saw people with so many different backgrounds, values, and talents. We were all so different, yet united with a common goal. “Empower. Lead. Excel.” These words are the motto of HOBY. They sum up the purpose of our passion. After the seminar was over, I experienced a burning rush of inspiration that would carry over into the next summer to be rekindled by HOBY once more. However, this time was different. Now, instead of being an ambassador, I was a JR. staff member. I was able to get a completely different rush. Instead of experiencing the excitement of realizing the potential feats I could accomplish, I was able to inspire others to go out and “Empower. Lead. Excel.”
-David James Johnson
Westfield School
GA HOBY ALUM 2009
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