Two Worcester students attend HOBY Leadership program

Worcester Prep students Maria Deckmann of Milton and Maya Natesan of Salisbury, Md., recently attended the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar. They joined more than 200 other young leaders representing various high schools. HOBY Leadership Seminars bring together a select group of high school sophomores from public and private schools to interact with groups of distinguished leaders in business, government, education and the professions to discuss present and future issues.

The goal is to provide the youths with a stimulating forum for learning about critical issues while broadening their quest for self-development and understanding of their leadership potential. HOBY leaders are also challenged to perform at least 100 hours of community service within 12 months following the seminar.

In 1958, actor Hugh O'Brian established the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar following a visit to Africa. He started HOBY to seek out, recognize and develop outstanding leadership potential among the nation's youth. The goal is to teach students to think constructively and discuss complex issues with individuals from various backgrounds and beliefs. In the past 59 years, HOBY has been a part of more than 375,000 students’ lives. Many of these HOBY Ambassadors continue to volunteer on HOBY seminar planning committees and in their local communities and schools.