Nathaly Hewawasam
Gateway High School
Celebration, Florida

HOBY truly does "unite the youth of today for a better tomorrow." There were 400 student ambassadors from 19 different locations of the world at this dynamic World Leadership Congress. Exemplary student leaders from the United States, Afghanistan, Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, England, Germany, the Wurzburg American High School in Germany, Hong Kong, Iraq, Korea, the Taegu American School in Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Paraguay, the Philippines, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, and Zambia were all there to be inspired by the foundation that Hugh O'Brian started to make a change or rather, to be the change that will make this world better. It was an incredible experience to learn about international cultures directly from the people of those cultures! Additionally, these people are probably going to be the leaders that will serve the world tomorrow, and by the end of the conference, we all recognized each other as the HOBY brothers and sisters of the HOBY family! At this international congress, unlike the situation in today's society, there were no boundaries set by the various religions of the ambassadors present, nor by the color of their skin. This provides a powerful lesson about the future of the world. We became the example of international cooperation for our generation, and each of us will spread this feeling of unity within our communities to guarantee a brighter future.

In addition to the outright dynamism of the WLC, each of us had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of meeting dozens of inspirational people. We had the opportunity to meet and talk to people like Dr. Vinton Cerf (Founder, Google), Dr. James Garvin (Chief Scientist, NASA), Dr. Robert Gallo (discoverer of AIDS virus), Lauren Bush (Goodwill Ambassador, United Nations World Food Program), and of course, our HOBY grandfather, Hugh O'Brian, who met with each one of us personally and told us that he expected a lot out of us. That was one of the most moving moments of the HOBY WLC. That is when we realized that, using the invaluable lessons learned through the HOBY WLC, we truly are going to change the world for the better.

Hearing from these speakers made us realize that these ambitious leaders were still learning about leadership in their everyday lives, and that they will always continue to learn, because that is what true leaders do. They also expressed to us their appreciation for us being such a motivated, proactive group of student leaders for the future.

It was an OUTSTANDING conference that inspired each one of us to truly strive for our best every day. Every day, we can make a difference in the world. There is no rule that says that you have to turn a certain age to be able to change the world. You can change the world today. That is what we learned. After all, as Eleanor Roosevelt so perfectly put it, "Today is a gift, and that's why they call it the present."

I would, without a doubt, strongly recommend the HOBY program to all high school sophomores. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that only one sophomore from each high school gets to participate in each year, and every sophomore should seize this opportunity to take part in an unbelievably enlightening experience.

Find out more about HOBY on the web and read an article about our 2006 Scholar's Day celebration