Sophomore Rohan Bopardikar has been selected to attend the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference (HOBY) at UC Davis this June 18 – 20. Classmate Sarika Asthana will also attend if space allows.

The HOBY conference, a leading youth leadership organization which sponsors conferences annually across the U.S., was founded by actor Hugh O’Brian, famous for his depiction of Wyatt Earp on television in the 1950s. O’Brian was inspired by German doctor Albert Schweitzer who said, “The most important thing in education is to teach young people to think for themselves.”

Bopardikar and Asthana were selected through an application and interview process by Kevin Williamson, dean of students, and Matthew Harley, sophomore class dean. Harley commented, “Both are very strong candidates who would benefit greatly from this program and benefit Harker upon their return.”

Selection criteria included, among other things, outstanding communication skills, creative problem solving, courage to speak out for one’s beliefs and participation in community service activities.

Previous HOBY participants include James Seifert and Julian Wise, both Gr. 11.