HOBY Leadership Seminar Inspires TCS Students
to Build Connections and Lead
By Samantha DePriest
Earlier this summer two rising juniors Braylan Caruthers and Noah Heath attended the HOBY - Georgia Leadership Conference at Georgia Southern University. HOBY is a national organization that invests in training student leaders across America and around the world.
Every year teachers and administrators select one girl and one boy student ambassador from each high school in Georgia based on their character, kindness to others, and leadership skills. Just over 200 students leaders from all over the state of Georgia stayed in the dorms at Georgia Southern University for a weekend learning about leadership, various group activities and service projects, and making new friends playing games, debating, and more.
Heather Caruthers, Braylan’s mom, shared “HOBY was an amazing experience for Braylan and really showed her how to make an impact outside of her school. All of the kids and counselors were the most upbeat and supportive young people I have ever met. The energy at drop off and the closing ceremonies was infectious! I can’t imagine how awesome it was for the whole weekend! She also made some really sweet friends along the way!”
Kelly Heath, Noah’s mom, shared “We are so grateful to TCS for giving Noah the opportunity! The staff and speakers were fantastic and the entire seminar was done with excellence. Noah came home encouraged, inspired, and ready to make a difference for Christ!”
Braylan Caruthers and Noah Heath
Braylan Caruthers pictured far right.
Image from Braylan Caruthers.
BRAYLAN CARUTHERS shared her experience that left a lasting impact on her understanding of leadership, teamwork, and community.
What were some of the things you learned at the seminar about leadership and how to work well with other leaders? One of the most valuable lessons I learned was that effective leadership comes in many forms. Through a leadership assessment, participants were grouped into four personality-based leadership styles: Eagles, Peacocks, Owls, and Doves. Eagles are natural leaders who take charge and focus on getting things done. Peacocks are social, energetic, and creative thinkers who enjoy sharing ideas. Owls are logical and organized, helping turn ideas into practical plans, while Doves focus on harmony and teamwork.
To demonstrate these different leadership styles, we worked in groups to design our dream homes. Each group's project reflected the strengths of its leadership type, showing how different personalities can contribute to success in unique ways.
Tell us about the impact it made on you being a part of the HOBY Leadership weekend. Beyond the leadership lessons, the greatest impact of HOBY was the connections I made with students from across Georgia. I enjoyed working with a diverse group of participants and praise the Junior Staff and administrators for creating a welcoming and uplifting environment.
The experience opened my eyes to how many people are out there who are just like me. It was such a positive and supportive community.
How do you plan to apply what you learned at school and in the community this year? This school year, I plan to apply what I learned by reaching beyond established social circles and building relationships with new people. I believe strong leadership involves bringing different groups together and creating harmony among them.
Sometimes when you branch out and talk to people you don't normally spend time with, you discover you have more in common than you think. I want to help connect different groups and bring people together.
Inspired by the experience, Braylan hopes to return to HOBY in the future as a member of the Junior Staff, continuing to serve and encourage other student leaders.Through her HOBY experience, Braylan gained valuable leadership skills, formed meaningful friendships, and developed a renewed commitment to building a stronger community both at school and beyond.
NOAH HEATH: What were some of the things you learned at the seminar about leadership and how to work well with other leaders?
Noah Heath pictured far right.
Image from Noah Heath
I learned about my strengths as a leader and how using my voice to lead other people and seeing how that works with other personality types. I also learned how you have to address your fears and get past them to grow.
Tell us about the impact it made on you being a part of the HOBY Leadership weekend.
There was an exercise that we did called “Star Values”. They gave everyone 5 stars and on each one you dedicated it to a word. The words were: Materials, Values, People, Memories, and Goals. On each point of each star we wrote what the most important things in each category were. For my people it was my family, for my goals it was just some goals I have as well as do ministry with my life, for memories I just put the best times of my life, for material it was like phones and stuff, and for my values I had a some of my traits as well as faith and growth. Now nothing prepared me for the next part.
They told us that when we ripped off a point of the star it would be as if it never existed. They started with three and it showed me what I could live without. I ripped away the material stuff first and eventually they left you with three points. The three a lot of people left were their parents and their phone or like their memories. For me the last three points were my goal to do ministry, my faith, and my growth. The impact this activity had on me was insane. It really showed me what matters most in this lifetime as I ripped away my whole family.
There were two more activities that really grew me as a leader. The first was called “Table Talks”. You would get in the group you were in all weekend and each person would get a topic. Generally it was a question but there were some that were just topics. I shared my faith through my speech and it revealed that everyone in my group was Christian. From that point on we were all closer because we knew we had a higher purpose. The last activity that left a big impact on me was where you were grouped up in a room with people from other groups and there were four corners. Agree, strongly agree, disagree, strongly disagree. There was a question, where I ended up being alone in a corner in a room of around 20 people. I was in that corner because of my beliefs in my faith and I knew there were people in that room who believed it too but didn’t want to stand up for it. I gave my reasoning and 5 people moved to my corner. This showed me that my confidence in what I believe is inspiring to others and using my leadership skills can help people wherever I am.
How do you plan to apply what you learned at school and in the community this year?
I’m going to use what I’ve learned to impact the world around me in ways that nobody knows yet. I will stand confident in my faith and I’m letting the Lord use me to bring Christ back into the lives of so many.
The best part of Hoby wasn’t even the classrooms or the activities. It was the people. I genuinely had such a good group and the funny part is that I don’t think anyone had a bad group. I met kids from Upson Lee, East Coweta, Northgate, McIntosh, Savannah, and so much more. The inspiring part to me is that they’re all such good leaders and they get to show Christ to the people in their communities. Though it wasn’t a Christian program, God gave me people I could inspire with my faith as well as others who could grow me.
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