Georgia delegates to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership 2011 World Leadership Conference included, top from left, Joshua Dugan, Jacob Anderson, Brandon DeBlois and Colquitt County’s Dylan Globerman; and, bottom from left, Garret Childers, Janea Feeney and Ben Lutz.

Dylan Globerman of Colquitt County High School proudly represented Georgia in Chicago at the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) 2011 World Leadership Congress (WLC). This marks the 53rd year of HOBY WLC and brought together 400 high school student leaders representing almost all 50 states and 10 countries.

“HOBY’s primary purpose is to give high school sophomores the opportunity to discover their leadership potential to become the leaders of tomorrow,” said HOBY founder Hugh O’Brian. “We give them a hands-on opportunity to interact with today’s top movers and shakers in business, government, education, technology, and other professions.”

Inspired by a nine-day visit with Dr. Albert Schweitzer, O’Brian founded HOBY in 1958 based on Schweitzer’s comment that the most important thing in education is teaching young people to think for themselves.

“Our thrust is to teach them how to think, not what to think, and what the thinking process is,” O’Brian added.

Today there are more than 365,000 HOBY alumni serving in leadership positions around the world.

Topics during the eight day World Leadership Congress include leadership, international economic conditions, poverty, global volunteerism, social entrepreneurism and global setting.

Speakers included Dr. Tererai Trent, Matthew Booth, Steven Harville, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Patty DeDomonic. Additionally, all 400 students spent a day in community service with hands-on service projects throughout the city of Chicago.

The selection process for the HOBY WLC begins each fall, when more than 8,000 public and private high schools in the U.S. select outstanding sophomores to attend a HOBY Leadership Seminar in every state in spring. At the local seminars, several students from each state are chosen to represent their states at the nine-day World Leadership Conference.