With the 2012 HOBY Texas Gulf Coast seminar just around the corner (get pumped!), we wanted to share some thoughts from a couple of this year’s volunteers—who also happen to be HOBY TGC alumni!
“So, I’m Nathan Blakley (Hi Nathan, Hi HOBY) and I was an ambassador in 2007. I can say that very few events have changed my life as much as HOBY did. HOBY taught me not what to think, but how to think for myself, and how to adapt my ideas to support the group of people I was working with. Every year I have come back (except for the year I graduated high school, when I was too far away to come). This year, I first applied to be a JC (junior counselor); however, upon learning we needed more TLs (team leads), I volunteered. Its both super exciting to be taking on bigger responsibilities and super scary too. But, I love every opportunity I can take to help this organization. I live too far away from Houston to be able to help with the planning committee, so I love every seminar when I can give back, if only in a small way, to everything that was given to me by HOBY and the wonderful people who volunteer here.”
— Nathan Blakley, 2007 HOBY TGC ambassador
“Looking back on the past 4 years of my life, I realized that I am a completely different person than I could have ever imagined—and I can say with confidence that HOBY is the reason I am the person I am today. One weekend may not seem like enough time to shape the rest of someone’s life, but for me—and I am sure many of the volunteers that return each year would agree—that one weekend was all it took. My year as an ambassador was an experience that I will never forget. Throughout the weekend I was challenged in so many ways by my team leader, guest speakers and panelists, and junior staff, but most importantly by myself. The most fulfilling part of the weekend was how empowered I felt by the end of the seminar. The skills I learned in one weekend as a high school sophomore are still the foundation of what I use today in my life as a college junior.
“As a junior counselor for what will soon be my fourth year, I am always asked ‘Why do you keep coming back?’ or ‘What is it about HOBY that is so special?’ I can’t actually put my finger on what makes it special because, as cheesy as it sounds, it’s a once in a lifetime experience that you can only feel, not describe. But as for why I have returned as a JC every seminar since 2008 (including skipping out on my own post-high school graduation activities), that is something I CAN describe. I love being able to witness the dramatic changes the ambassadors undergo from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon. I like being able to be a real example for the ambassadors at HOBY each year: an example of what HOBY does for people and that the goals they set for themselves during the weekend are tangible and possible. So, in other words, ‘Why do I keep coming back to HOBY?’ Because I can’t imagine my life without it.”
— Jerrica Butler, 2008 HOBY TGC ambassador
