Date: Fri 06-Oct-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: AMYD

Quick Words:

Laura-Marusa-HOBY-leadership

Full Text:

The Snowball Or A Conference; Marusa Made The Right Decision

B Y A MY D'O RIO

Laura Marusa got some good news earlier this year from her mother.

Newtown High School had selected her out of all the sophomores to represent

the school at the prestigious Hugh O'Brien Youth (HOBY) Leadership Conference

for sophomores.

There was just one hitch.

The March conference was the same weekend as the Snowball dance. Laura had to

decide by the following day which one she wanted to attend.

"I changed my mind about 30 times that night," she said.

Laura finally chose the four-day conference; there would be other years for

the Snowball dance.

In hindsight, Laura knows she made a wise decision: A) the dance was

rescheduled to another weekend, and B) the conference turned out to be "the

best experience" of her life.

"I already thought I could pretty much do anything, and HOBY got rid of the

pretty much," she said.

Laura, a junior now, returned home with more confidence, better skills and a

big project.

"Because HOBY was by far the greatest experience of my life, I wanted to pass

it on to as many people as possible," she said.

She and two other students from nearby towns are planning a one-day youth

leadership conference for area sophomores. Newtown High School and Trumbull's

high school are definitely participating, and eight other high schools are

considering joining.

Approximately 10 percent of each sophomore class will attend the conference,

scheduled for November 7 at Newtown High School, providing far more students

with leadership training than would normally occur.

For example, the annual HOBY conference in Connecticut takes only one

sophomore from each high school.

Bob Dilzer, the high school's social studies chairman, said Laura was selected

as Newtown's representative based on her answers on an application and her

past achievements.

Last year, she and a few other students resurrected the high school's Students

Against Drunk Driving organization. She has served as its president.

Laura is also involved with the school's Leadership Council, peer counseling,

the Key Club and she teaches Sunday school at her church.

Mr Dilzer said he knew Laura would take the conference seriously, but her

continued interest in leadership training has been a pleasant surprise.

He said he can only remember one other Newtown student who attended the HOBY

conference who pursued HOBY activities further.

"I am glad to see she is going as far as she can with it," he said.

Running a one-day conference is something the HOBY organization encourages its

alumni to do because the students can practice as well as pass on leadership

skills.

The Hugh O'Brien Youth Foundation, a national non-profit organization,

provides interested students with guidelines on how to set up a one-day HOBY

conferences. It still requires a lot of planning and time, however, and that

is why many students never undertake the project.