11.30.2016

Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Eighty-Third Edition, November 30, 2016

Featured Alumna: Mackenzie McCloud '12

     My name is MacKenzie McCloud and I am a junior currently attending Hampton University where I am studying nursing. I attended Hugh O’Brian Youth Program the summer of 2012 and retuned the summer of 2013 as a junior staff member. Being selected to represent my high school at HOBY became one of the major defining moments in the development of the young woman I am today. The leadership skills, networking, and friendships that I developed and experienced during my summers with HOBY has given me the confidence to challenge myself and not steer away from leadership roles. Since my attendance I have received multiple awards from Health Occupational Students of America in Epidemiology, became a member of the Freddye T. Davy Honors College, and selected to be a part of Hampton University’s Student Recruitment Team. These are a few highlights since my summers with HOBY. I encourage every student who is presented with the opportunity to attend the summer program to go. It will take you out of your comfort zone and it will cause to think. But that’s what leaders do. We push ourselves, we make opportunities for ourselves, and we give back. Hugh O’Brian Youth Program will give you the tools needed to become leader on whatever path you choose to take in life.


HOBY Info:
Georgia HOBY Store
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  • If you shop at Amazon, then switch to Amazon Smile (https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-2861279). It is the exact same website, but 0.5% of purchases will be donated to a charity of your choice.
  • Choose HOBY Georgia (Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership) as your charity!
Social Networking!!!
  • Find us on Facebook: HOBY Georgia
  • Follow us on Twitter: @GA_HOBY  
  • Follow us on Instagram: hoby_georgia
  • Follow us on Vine: Georgia HOBY
  • Follow us on SnapChat: hobygeorgia
  • Check our the website: www.gahoby.org
  • Check out our YouTube channel: HOBY Georgia
  • Check out http://hobycheers.wikidot.com/list-of-hoby-cheers for awesome cheers
Hours
This Blog
  • If you would like post a "My Favorite HOBY Experience" in the future on this blog, then email gahobyfundraising@gmail.com also with your response!
  • Be on the lookout for the next Newsletter or My Favorite HOBY Experience Post

11.15.2016

Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Eighty-Second Edition, November 15, 2016

Featured Alumnus: Dan Kamykowski '01 


     I wasn’t even supposed to go to HOBY. I was the alternate. Luckily, though, my drama teacher saw the potential in me that I didn’t even knew I had. She got the Junior League in my hometown to sponsor me to go. Our seminar was at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. I remember walking into the big room where we were at, and just hearing noise. It was all the cheering that is the heart of the HOBY program. I remember I just stood there not saying a thing or moving a muscle. I think it was about an hour into the seminar that I decided to try it out. There is a cheer that many have forgotten about called “Let me see your Boogaloo.” It requires a lot of moving and linking arms, and for whatever reason, that was the moment my HOBY spirit came alive. If you know that song “This Little Light of Mine,” then you will understand that prior to that moment, I had never light my light shine through. 
     From that one seemingly insignificant moment, I turned my lantern on full blast. The rest of the weekend was nothing but this energy pouring out of me. When I went home, I didn’t know how to shut off the light. From that weekend, I was definitely put on the path to my own greatness. I got involved with HOBY the following year by volunteering for the CLeW in my hometown. That was how I was identified for my potential as a seminar volunteer, and the next fifteen or so years is history. I love being a volunteer for HOBY. It makes the month of June my favorite. Being able to see and meet the next generation of leaders is why I keep coming back each year. Through HOBY, I discovered my love for working with all young people no matter the circumstance. This has been the greatest gift of HOBY for me. I learned what my passion is and gave me the courage to go out there a make a difference.. 
     So when I moved to Savannah in 2007, I became a volunteer for the Big Brothers & Big Sisters program and Camp Aloha, a camp for young people who have lost a loved one. Even today, a dear friend of mine told me he wished he could borrow some of my energy, but you can’t really share a HOBY spirit that way. Most people know me in HOBY for my work with CLeW Savannah. Five years ago, I met another HOBY alumna in Savannah. She happened to be the daughter of a colleague of mine, and together we formed the team that would become CLeW Savannah. I am proud of the program we have built here, and love seeing where these young potential leaders go with their lives, even if it doesn’t include the HOBY Leadership Seminar their sophomore year.


HOBY Info:
Georgia HOBY Store
Amazon Smile
  • If you shop at Amazon, then switch to Amazon Smile (https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-2861279). It is the exact same website, but 0.5% of purchases will be donated to a charity of your choice.
  • Choose HOBY Georgia (Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership) as your charity!
Social Networking!!!
  • Find us on Facebook: HOBY Georgia
  • Follow us on Twitter: @GA_HOBY  
  • Follow us on Instagram: hoby_georgia
  • Follow us on Vine: Georgia HOBY
  • Follow us on SnapChat: hobygeorgia
  • Check our the website: www.gahoby.org
  • Check out our YouTube channel: HOBY Georgia
  • Check out http://hobycheers.wikidot.com/list-of-hoby-cheers for awesome cheers
Hours
This Blog
  • If you would like post a "My Favorite HOBY Experience" in the future on this blog, then email gahobyfundraising@gmail.com also with your response!
  • Be on the lookout for the next Newsletter or My Favorite HOBY Experience Post