It's a Trap!: My Adventures at Central PA HOBY

     In retrospect, my junior year of high school, simply put, has been an unbelievable and outstanding experience.  I successfully started a Key Club at my high school, survived taking multiple AP classes, and most importantly, inspired the students at my school to take action in their communities and make a difference.  Despite these accomplishments and achievements, or perhaps because of them, I became burned out.  In my desire to advance my educational experience and make an impact in my school and community, I lost my lust for life in the process.  Instead of eagerly waking up each morning with great enthusiasm, I became a “drifter”.  I just drifted through life, just lived from day to day, without any real passion or excitement.  Living life just was not as exciting as it used to be; it almost seemed like a chore now.  The past year had burned me out, and I was done with being enthusiastic and working to make a difference.  Fortunately, HOBY was there, like it always is, ready to make a change.


     This year, I was the recipient of a special and rare opportunity that few HOBY Alumni are able to participate in: attending a Hugh O’ Brian Youth (“HOBY”) Leadership Seminar outside of one’s home state.  My heart will always belong to HOBY Maryland (“MD”), but when I received word of an opportunity to attend an Alumni Reunion at the Central Pennsylvania (“PA”) Seminar, I jumped at the chance to attend. I was excited by the idea of attending a HOBY Seminar in another state, and comparing it with my HOBY MD experience.

     Mixed in with these feelings of excitement and anticipation were feelings of nervousness, and yes, even fear.  I must say that I was a little apprehensive about attending a HOBY Seminar outside my home state.  All of the Seminar staff and the Team Alumni (“TA”) (Former ambassadors who return to HOBY to serve as junior staff) have already bonded through their seminar and are well acquainted with one another, where as I would be an outsider.  It may seem a bit silly in retrospect, but I was afraid that I would not “fit in” at this seminar- and that I would be an outcast.  As I soon learned, there is no such thing as outsiders and outcasts in the HOBY family, and the two day reunion completely re-energized me and filled me with a zeal for life that I had not felt in a long time.

     Through my dear friend Matt Hockney, who served on the Central PA HOBY staff, Jordan Coyne, Lorena Smith, Ben Allen (All HOBY MD alumni) and I were invited to attend the Central PA HOBY alumni reunion.  Their reunion is unique, in that it takes place during the actual HOBY Seminar, is open to HOBY Alumni from all HOBY Seminars across the country, and features team-building activities and guest speakers, making it remarkably similar to the standard HOBY experience.  My friends and I would be spending the next two days with the Central PA TA, helping out at a service project, leading the ambassadors in cheers, and participating in team-building and leadership activities.  It wasn’t just a time for Alumni to get together and connect; it was going to be a mini- HOBY Seminar, an amazingly ingenious concept.

     So we packed up our belongings and headed to the Central PA reunion, having no idea what we the next two days would be like.  The minute we stepped foot onto the campus, we were greeted by the Central PA Team Alumni with a question, “How do you feel?!?!??!?!”  Well this was new.  We all nervously looked at each other, and since it was HOBY, answered in reply “OUTSTANDING!”.  This was the wrong answer, as the Team Alumni enthusiastically responded by saying “SURVEY SAYS??? EHHHHHH!”  Well, if we didn’t feel awkward and out of place before, we definitely did now.  However these feelings of awkwardness and discomfort quickly melted away, when we were fully introduced to and completely embraced by the Central PA HOBY TA.  They welcomed us into their group, and from the way we acted with one another, it seemed like we had been friends for years.

Showing us how to Wiggalo

     After introductions, we were joined by the other alumni reunion participants (former Central PA HOBY ambassadors) and began our service project.  Along with the TA and several staff members, we walked to a local senior citizens’ center, where we were to spend our afternoon spending quality time with the residents, many of whom receive very few visitors.  I thought we would sit with down with the residents, listen to them tell us stories, politely eat lunch with them, and then be on our way.  Nope.  In complete contrast to my expectations, we spent the next four hours cheering, serenading, dancing, and sharing our love and enthusiasm of HOBY with the residents.

Shower Ensemble's Debut Performance

     Easily my favorite part of the entire reunion happened during this visit to the senior center.  Before I begin this story, a little background history is required.  At the Central PA 2010 Seminar, four brave and valiant young gentlemen began to sing in the shower…together.  They decided to share their collective singing talent with the staff by forming an all-male singing group, appropriately named the “Shower Quartet”.  This year, in an effort to expand the group, they held tryouts for all the male TA.  Since they could not narrow down their selection, all the male TA were added to the group, which was re-named the “Shower Ensemble”, in reference to the addition of the new members.  My HOBY MD friend/counterpart Ben and I were made honorary members, which is one of the greatest honors ever bestowed on me.

The full Shower Ensemble

     To entertain the residents, we decided to put on a mini-concert of some of the greatest love songs of all time.  One would think that a singing group made up of teenage males would produce sub-par music, but in reality, it was the most beautiful music I have heard in my entire life.  It was as if a chorus of angels had descended from heaven to sing in the center that day.  We performed four hit songs for the residents, including our amazing rendition of “My Girl” (including a four-part harmony), and I can honestly say it was an amazingly fulfilling experience.  As we sang “My Girl”, each member of the “Shower Ensemble” split off and sang to a different lady in the room.  I held an elderly woman’s hand, and as I was singing the chorus the song, I looked straight into her eyes, and I saw tears begin to form.  Right there, in that moment, I realized why we went to the center that day, and the reason and purpose for all out “shenanigans”.  Even though we were being very goofy and playful, we were spending quality time with these residents, who very rarely received this kind of attention.  We were having fun, but making a difference in the lives of these people at the same time.  This had a profound impact on me.  I had always treated community service as a very serious venture, something to be held in high regard, and not taken lightly.  It had never dawned on me that one could have so much fun while serving one’s community.  In that one instant, that one fleeting moment of time, I realized that one doesn’t have to organize large, massive service projects in order to make a difference.  It can be as simple as singing to an elderly lady.  Singing to those residents was one of the highlights of my life, and I won’t soon forget it.

     As we made our way back from the senior center, I was very enthusiastic and filled with excitement for the rest of the day, as all the cheering, singing, and dancing had energized me.  Did I mention cheering?  If there’s anything that the people at Central PA HOBY do well, it is cheering.  There is a cheer for every situation, and the staff of Central PA HOBY, especially the TA, never miss an opportunity.  I learned close to ten different cheers and energizers over the course of two days.  Some highlights include “Wiggalo”, “Outstanding”, “Survey Says”, and my new favorite, “The HOBY Pony”.  In fact, the main job of the Central PA TA is to lead cheers, and they do an outstanding job.  Any time the ambassadors are moving to another place or transitioning between activities, the TA are leading cheers.  Whether it is by “dotting the path” and stationing themselves in strategic areas, enthusiastically cheering as the ambassadors walk by, or leading them within the seminar itself, there is never “down time” at Central PA HOBY.  It’s always cheering time.

     The rest of the reunion continued to be an amazing, unforgettable experience.  We spent most of the rest of the day cheering (not an exaggeration), hanging out, and participating in team building activities.  At the dance later that evening, I ignored any self-deprecation I had about my dancing and completely unleashed myself on the dance floor.  I sweated through my shirt and couldn’t hear anything afterward, but it was well worth it.  After we cleaned up and changed for the evening, all of the staff sat together and reflected on their lives in HOBY.  It was a fantastic experience for me- seeing these people that have been volunteering with HOBY for well over fifteen years, and to see them still filled with the same enthusiasm that they had as ambassadors.  All of the adult staff at Central PA HOBY were very welcoming and accepting of the HOBY MD alumni, and I learned a lot from them about leadership and organization.

     Despite getting only two hours of sleep that night, I awoke the next day with even more enthusiasm than I had the day before.  I could not remember a time when I was this exuberant and spirited, and I was eagerly anticipating the day’s activities.  We walked through Millersville, PA to a beautiful park where we ate a delicious picnic lunch, and just enjoyed each other’s company.  I spent a lot of time talking to the staff about HOBY, and it was very beneficial for me to be able to compare the two seminars, which I can use to my advantage when I one day (hopefully) become Seminar Chair for a HOBY.  The picnic was an outstanding experience, as I helped put on a hilarious impromptu skit about “The HOBY Rules” built a human machine to create potions, and rode ”The HOBY Pony” with the ambassadors back on campus, which is the greatest cheer ever created by man.  It was an outstanding end to a perfect day.

     Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and so did the reunion.  I was not expecting to be so impacted by my experiences over the previous few days, but they had a made a difference in my life, which made saying goodbye difficult.  Our new family said goodbye in the best way possible, with a cheer:

     “Hey Central PA HOBY, what do we think of HOBY MD?!?!?!?  OUTSTANDING!!!  O-U-T, S-T-A-N-D, I-N-G, OUT OUT OUTSTANDING!  O-U-T, S-T-A-N-D, I-N-G, OUT OUT OUTSTANDING!” (I’m going to be honest, I got teary-eyed after that).

The HOBY MD Alumni

     The Central PA HOBY alumni reunion was one of many life-changing experiences I’ve had because of my association with the Hugh O’ Brian Youth Leadership Foundation.  It came at just the right time in my life.  Life had burned me out, and I was in desperate need of a re-charge.  Even though I was only with these people for two days, I became very close to them, and I consider them part of my HOBY family.  Not only did I become filled with a zeal for life that I had not felt in a long time, but I was able to experience a different HOBY Seminar, which is an experience I recommend to any HOBY Alumnus who is serious about becoming staff for a HOBY Seminar someday.

The HOBY MD Alumni with the TA.  Yeah, my eyes are closed...

     If I had to sum up the Central PA alumni reunion in just three words, it would definitely have to be “It’s a trap”.  The people there really “trap” you in their love, kindness, and especially enthusiasm, and it’s so ensnaring that one doesn’t want to leave.  I am so thankful for the amazing opportunity that I was gifted with.  More important than anything that happened to me at that reunion, I got to help make a difference in the lives of over 240 high school sophomores, which is all the “re-charge” I need.  It was a remarkable and truly touching experience that made a big difference in my life, and I am not only a stronger and more effective leader because of it, but a more confident and fun-loving person.  So what did I think of the HOBY Central PA Alumni Reunion?  Simply put, it was OUTSTANDING.

Rainbow over the HOBY Seminar