Emily attended the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Seminar at Roger Williams University this June along with about 30 other sophomores from all over Rhode Island and a few representatives from New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.  HOBY, as it’s known, was founded in 1958 with a mission to “inspire and develop our global community of youth and volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service and innovation.”

Student ambassadors at the conference attended many sessions, ranging from a trip to the State House complete with a mock legislature to presentations on topics such as business, leadership and community service.  The students also engaged in group projects like a free-market challenge, where groups had to form their own company and come up with a product, advertise the product and sell the product.  This would help the students determine what would make the most profit using some unique materials, and a beach clean-up to get them started on their road to 100 hours of community service this year.

There was little “down time” at HOBY as they spent some 16 hours together each day of the seminar.  They were challenged to learn and lead; there was no slacking and each group had to communicate well and work together to complete all its tasks.  Not only did they take from this seminar many new ideas, experiences and the encouragement to step outside our comfort zone, but the students also made friendships that hopefully will last a lifetime.

Emily enjoyed her HOBY experience so much that she hopes to return next year as a volunteer on the staff.