HOBY makes YSU home

Nearly 190 high school juniors from 17 counties in Northeast Ohio attended the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership seminar on the campus of Youngstown State University.

The students, representing 177 high schools, stayed in YSU residence halls during four days of HOBY seminars, workshops, presentations and other activities aimed at helping them learn how to become effective and ethical leaders in their homes, schools and communities.

This is the second consecutive year that YSU has hosted the HOBY Ohio North leadership event.

“We are honored to be the home base to an organization that promotes leadership among our youth,” YSU President Jim Tressel said. “It also is a tremendous opportunity for us to show off YSU’s important role in the technological and cultural evolution of the Mahoning Valley.”

HOBY, founded in 1958 by actor Hugh O’Brian, is a global network aimed at helping youth dedicate their lives to leadership, service and innovation. More than 450,000 individuals from more than 70 countries have participated in HOBY seminars and conferences. Over nearly 60 decades, HOBY alumni have logged nearly 4 million hours of volunteer services with an economic impact of nearly $90 million.

Presenters at the YSU seminar included Matt Lambdin, director of Experiential Learning in the College of Business at Ohio Northern University; Donald L. Tocco, founder of Tocco & Associates, a national marketing company; and Molly Kennedy, who grew up in a dysfunctional family, endured years of abuse, suffered from an eating disorder and was abandoned but went on to earn a master’s degree, complete an ironman triathlon and become a bodybuilding champion.