HOBY 2010 Registration is underway!

HOBY dates and times have been finalized, registration is open, and we (the directing staff) are ready for an OUTSTANDING year! Now that you're registered, you should be receiving a copy of The Monthly in your inbox each month until May. In early April, student information packets will be distributed via email to complete the registration process. If this email address is not your preferred email, please ask your high school counselor to update your email address on HOBY Online.

But in the mean time, what can/should you do? Get excited. Get very excited. And stay on top of things by reading The Monthly every month! Every month's edition will include some new information, a "HOBY story" from one of last years ambassadors, and provide opportunities for everyone to get connected before the seminar even begins. Get ready for an OUTSTANDING weekend!

Get plugged in!

Making great friends is one of the things you can surely expect to do at HOBY. But there's no reason to wait for names and faces to become familiar! Michigan HOBY has a Facebook fan page as well as our own website, www.mihoby.org. Feel free to start/join a discussion, connect with staff members, ask questions, and make your presence known!

If social networking isn't your thing and you still want to know more, feel free to call or send an email to any of our listed contact people (at www.mihoby.org or listed below).

Extra Terrestrial...?

We're sure you've noticed by now - HOBY is chock full of acronyms. Need some help keeping them all straight? Look no further.

ET = Enthusiasm Team [member]: A HOBY alumni volunteer under the age of 21 that helps facilitate cheers, their group, and other events throughout the weekend.

GL = Group Leader: A volunteer over the age of 21 that, as the title might suggest, leads a small home group.

As Told By...

Shannon Lynch | 2009 HOBY Alumna

HOBY is by far in my "Top 3" for the most rewarding experiences I have ever had the opportunity to participate in. When I found out I would be attending HOBY, I had NO idea what to expect, and the day of, I was extremely nervous. I may seem outgoing around school, but I find it very hard to open up with people I hardly know, and three days didn't even seem like enough time to make anything more than acquaintances.

Now, I'm not going to outline every detail of my weekend here, but I want to highlight what I think is the most important. The three days were filled with HOBY team building activities, a community service project, getting to talk to a government panel about todays financial, political, and environmental state, talking with Jim Tuman, a speaker who honestly changed my life in one hour, and an amazing talent show. The weekend went on, filled with tears, laughs, and the most energetic group of teenagers I have ever seen. I promise you, the people I met on the first day were not the people I left HOBY loving.

When it was time to leave my friends, I was extremely sad. As soon as I got home, I hopped on Facebook and added everyone I knew at HOBY. I couldn't stop thinking about them. To this day, at this moment, I continue to talk to almost everyone I met that weekend. And I am most definitely going back as an ET next year, hopefully along with most of my group members.

What has made me a true leader is HOBY. I cannot wait for someone at my school to have the same opportunity as me and I cannot wait to go back this year. I hope that I will keep the relationships I formed at HOBY through my entire life, and continue to make many more just like it. HOBY truly has changed my life.

The Bottom of the Page...

Aaron Vince | Assistant Director of Recruitment/HOBY contact person/2006 HOBY Alumnus

I think I may have just noticed how long the list of titles I hold with HOBY is...
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aaron Vince, and I'm the guy you call if you (counselors, students, parents, etc) ever need to ask a question. We (the HOBY directing staff) have done our best to ensure that my contact information is plastered everywhere possible (atvince@gmail.com; 616-799-7597) so that if ever a question arises, everyone knows who to call.

I am currently a sophomore at Grand Valley State University pursuing a secondary education major. I am a founding father of a leadership fraternity on campus, music director of a touring a capella group, founder/director of an all-Greek ministry, I co-lead a youth group in the Grand Rapids area, and spend the first five months of each year essentially living and breathing HOBY.

Back in 2006 when I was selected for HOBY, I'll be honest - I was not exactly excited for the opportunity. Fortunately, what I anticipated and what I experienced ended up being two completely different things, and my life since has not been the same. My social, leadership, analytic and cognitive skills were sharpened in ways that I still utilize. (For instance, after networking with a state representative speaking at the 2006 seminar, I ended up with an internship in the State Capitol the following summer.)

One of the new additions to "Pre-HOBY" this year is this, the HOBY Monthly. It, along with the revamped website, social networking opportunities and the installment of new staff is intended to keep everything more organized and up-to-date. If you still have questions/concerns/suggestions, again feel free to contact me directly (atvince@gmail.com; 616-799-7597).