Jake Percey, an upcoming junior at Pleasant Valley High School, says he describes himself as "pretty shy." But after spending four days at the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) seminar in Harrisburg this summer, he now believes he has the skills to be a leader.

"It was a life-changing event," said the 16-year-old and he thanked the Western Pocono Women's Club for sponsoring him.Percey, the son of Jake and Paulette Percey, said when he arrived he didn't know anyone and being shy it was pretty intimidating. But almost immediately, he felt the energy and friendliness of the other students and through a series of group activities, he quickly bonded with others.HOBY is a nonprofit organization founded by actor Hugh O'Brian in 1958. The concept for HOBY was inspired by a nine-day visit O'Brian had with famed humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa. Dr. Schweitzer believed "the most important thing in education is to teach young people to think for themselves."HOBY is dedicated to training and nurturing the young leaders of tomorrow, to provide lifelong leadership development opportunities that empower youth to achieve their highest potential.HOBY empowers 10,000 sophomores annually through its over 70 leadership programs in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its inception, over 355,000 young people have been inspired by HOBY.Hugh O'Brian's message that he hopes is conveyed to young people is "Freedom to Choose." In a brief speech on this topic he had said, "I do NOT believe we are all born equal. Created equal in the eyes of God, yes, but physical and emotional differences, parental guidelines, varying environments, being in the right place at the right time, all play a role in enhancing or limiting an individual's development. But I DO believe every man and woman, if given the opportunity and encouragement to recognize their potential, regardless of background, has the freedom to choose in our world. Will an individual be a taker or a giver in life? Will that person be satisfied merely to exist or seek a meaningful purpose? Will he or she dare to dream the impossible dream?"I believe every person is created as the steward of his or her own destiny with great power for a specific purpose, to share with others, through service, a reverence for life in a spirit of love."Some of the activities Percey did at the seminar was to build a leader out of items like a balloon and popsicle stick, visited the House of Representatives where they wrote bills and voted on them and helped a group of people in a community to build a playground."I learned three things at HOBY. I learned about Friendship. Being very shy, this helped me. I made friends that I'm still talking to and hope we'll be friends a long time. I learned about living the dash. One of our speakers talked about the dates of when we're born and when we die that's on our gravestones. And the dash between them. He said it's what we do in between that matters. And the third thing I learned is how important it is to help others."He again thanked the ladies of the club for sponsoring him and told them "I had a blast."Everyone in the club agreed that they sponsored the right sophomore to attend HOBY.