Elyse McIntyre, now a junior at Meadowview Christian School, was one of more than 14,000 sophomores chosen to attend

a three-day HOBY conference held at Huntingdon College in May. She was selected last November to be Meadowview’s representative at the conference and the school paid her expenses through the Student Government Association.

McIntyre is a native Selmian who has gone to Meadowview since Kindergarten.

The program was founded in 1958 by actor Hugh O’Brian who was inspired by a nine-day visit with Dr. Albert Schweitzer

in Africa. Two weeks after O’Brian’s return he decided to make his own contribution to society by establishing HOBY and focusing on the development of youth leadership.

Through the years the program expanded from one for California students only to an international outreach that involves more than

14,000 sophomores from public and private high schools. Each school selects its most outstanding sophomore to attend one of 88 seminars held throughout the United States and Canada. HOBY-style programs are also held in Hong Kong, Israel and Mexico.

McIntyre, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ellis McIntyre, was enthusiastic about her experience. She admitted that at first the idea was “scary,” but after going through it she said, “I had fun. It was very interesting. I will long remember it.”

The conference had 180 sophomores in attendance, she said, and there were skits, leadership activities and guest speakers, including the Atlanta Braves mascot, Miss Alabama and Kay Ivey, state treasurer.

“The conference was organized into groups of 15 students, each with one or two guidance counselors,” she said. “The speakers came around to the groups, which we really enjoyed,” she said. She also said she hopes she can go back in the future as one of the group counselors.

McIntyre said she knew almost no one in attendance and enjoyed making new friends whom she hopes to see again.

McIntyre plays softball and basketball at Meadowview and is a member of the Student Government Association and the Senior Beta Club.

This summer she played softball and basketball on local teams and made several trips around the state.