Montgomery County Student Reflects on Leadership, Service, and Friendship at Maryland HOBY Seminar

By Henry Wolf

From June 4th to June 7th, I had the pleasure of attending the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) Maryland seminar at Towson. HOBY was founded in 1958 with the goal of inspiring youth leadership through seminars held across America. Across four days, ambassadors from schools across Maryland developed three types of leadership: personal, group, and community leadership. But between the countless cheers, activities, and speakers, we developed friendships and relationships that can last a lifetime.

Building Personal Leadership Through Confidence and Self-Discovery

Throughout the first two days, HOBY helped develop personal leadership in two ways: hands-on activities and lectures. At the end of the first day, we had the chance to listen to Tyneka Pack, who spoke about personal leadership. She spoke about leading with confidence and believing that you belong.

The next day, we were split into groups to build Legos; little did we know, the different groups represented our unique leadership styles. The activity taught us our strengths and weaknesses, as well as how different leadership styles interact with each other. The unique combination of lectures and hands-on activities allowed ambassadors to learn and apply their own personal leadership.

Learning Group Leadership Through the Amazing Race

To help develop group leadership skills, HOBY put together the Amazing Race. The Amazing Race was a series of games and challenges that needed to be solved in groups. It helped us understand the different types of leaders in a group and how to effectively communicate with other group members.

The Amazing Race was a favorite among ambassadors because of its combination of leadership development and fun activities.

Serving the Community With the Oyster Recovery Partnership

The third and final type of leadership developed at HOBY was community leadership. To help us learn about community leadership, HOBY partnered with Oyster Recovery Partnership. We got to build cages where oysters could breed to help increase the population in Maryland.

HOBY also gave us a chance to help create a plan to make an impact in our county during the county lunch. We talked with other members of our county to create some sort of impact on our community; the winner received a $1,000 grant to put their plan into action.

Both activities gave us a chance to talk to people we never would have and showed us how rewarding community service can be.

Friendships, Talent Shows, and Lasting Memories

Even though most of the time at HOBY was spent listening to seminars or participating in meaningful activities, most evenings we had time to hang out with our friends. On Friday, there was a talent show, and on Saturday, there was a party with food and games.

These activities were always a highlight of the day, especially the talent show. It was amazing seeing people sing and dance with people they had only met 24 hours before.

A Transformative Experience for Young Leaders Across Maryland

When my group first met, I remember sitting and looking awkwardly at the ground. But not even 24 hours later, we were performing in a talent show together.

HOBY has a way of pushing people out of their comfort zone and helping them gain more confidence, especially when it comes to leadership. It also opened my eyes to hundreds of new ideas and perspectives that I never would have encountered otherwise.

HOBY is truly a one-of-a-kind transformative experience that helped develop leaders across Maryland.

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