Featured Alumni
This area is dedicated to HOBY’s OUTSTANDING alumni and the accomplishments they have made. Whether through doing community service, realizing personal and professional dreams, or starting their own non-profits, HOBY alumni are changing the world for the better.
Do you know of a notable alumna/us or have news of your own to share? E-mail us at alumni@hoby.org.
HOBY Alumnus Michael Poteran Remembered
When Michael Poteran arrived at the 2004 HOBY Leadership Seminar in Northern California, he stood out brightly from the crowd of student leaders because of his positive attitude and energy. He left HOBY that summer dreaming big and knowing he could change the world. We knew Michael would, too, but none of us could have known how soon or how drastically.
We learned just four months later that Michael was diagnosed with a terribly rare form of cancer – neuroendocrine carcinoma. Michael’s determination and resolve made it easy to champion his cause as his school, family and friends all rallied around him. Despite chemotherapy, Michael was adamant about staying involved in HOBY. He returned to the seminar as a volunteer in 2005 and 2006 to inspire others. He was a living example of being true to oneself.
Michael was a dancer, musician, model, writer and comedian – a true artist of life and a young Renaissance man. Culture made his world revolve, from sushi to Buddhism to Vivaldi. He adored playing both rugby and the violin and was quite good at both. Michael was a very spiritual person, intuitive and wise beyond his years; a so called “old soul.”
After a three year struggle, the Poteran family experienced the devastating loss of Michael on October 7, 2007. Michael’s family and friends from HOBY and Jesuit High School gathered on October 20th to celebrate a life well-lived. In his memory, HOBY Northern California is starting a memorial scholarship. Details about donations to the scholarship fund can be found at www.hobynorcal.org.
Nathaniel Nelson Awarded Scholarship to Stanford University
Nathaniel Nelson, 2005 South Dakota HOBY Alumnus, was recently awarded a $180,000 scholarship to Stanford University from Questbridge. QuestBridge is a non-profit program that links bright, motivated low-income students with educational and scholarship opportunities at some of the nation's best colleges. Learn more about QuestBridge by visiting www.questbridge.org.
Danielle Yaros Wins Miss Teen of America Title
Danielle Yaros, daughter of Stephen and Christine Yaros of Wilkes-Barre, and 2006 Central Pennsylvania HOBY Alumna, competed in the Miss Teen of America Pageant 2006 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. Danielle competed for the title of Miss Teen of America as a result of her capturing the title of Miss Teen of Pennsylvania in July of last year. Danielle was selected as Miss Teen of America from the reigning Miss Teens of each of the 50 states.
Danielle was judged in six categories: Scholastic Record, Achievement and Service to School and Community, Personal Development of Talents and Skills, General Awareness Written Test, Personality Projection in Formal Wear, and Judges’ Interview. During the national competition weekend, Danielle gave a five-minute inspirational speech entitled “YOU Can Change the World,” which was based on her HOBY experience. “HOBY has shown me that teenagers, as the leaders of tomorrow, really can make a difference in the world,” says Danielle. She also gave a seven-minute special interest speech entitled “A Different Kind of Vacation” which focused on her experience as part of an eleven-member mission team to Ecuador in June of 2005.
As Miss Teen of America, some of Danielle’s appearances will include being an honored guest in the St. Paul Winter Carnival and Parade. She will also be a guest speaker at the Distinguished Youth of Texas Program to be held in Austin, Texas. She will travel to Australia for a two-week period where she will be a guest speaker at schools, rotary clubs, civic events, and local media outlets. As Miss Teen of America, Danielle will also tour the U.S. attending the Miss Teen pageants of the various states and awarding the new title holders. She will also be active locally as a guest speaker for various schools, clubs, and organizations, including HOBY. Danielle notes, ”After attending the HOBY Seminar in May, 2006, I had the determination and confidence to go back to my community and be a leader in the different types of volunteer activities I was already involved in.”
The Miss Teen of America Pageant founded in 1983 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a scholarship and recognition pageant for the nation’s outstanding young women. The pageant is meant to accent the positive qualities among today’s youth and to foster and promote worthwhile ideals. The pageant seeks to nationally recognize achievements of our country’s female youth and to bring the accomplishments of today’s young women to the attention of America. Other than to publicly recognize America’s outstanding young women and to select one individual designated as truly outstanding, the pageant seeks to provide a unique and valuable experience for everyone involved.
Danielle is currently a junior attending Hanover Area High School in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.
Aaron Tang founds “Our Education” – another alumni non-profit changing the world
"A million voices, one right!" is Aaron Tang’s mantra for his new Leadership for Service opportunity. Aaron, a 1999 HOBY Ohio North Ambassador, along with his college classmates at Yale, created "Our Education" in hopes of encouraging students to "claim their voice" and take an active role in improving America’s educational system. Through a nation-wide petition campaign, they are working towards ensuring quality education for all students, a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
"Our Education’s mission is to improve public education in America by engaging and empowering young people across the country in a national student movement for better schools. We believe that the best chance we have to get the kinds of schools we need in America is for youth themselves to play a leading role in the effort to secure them," said Aaron.
"I remember vividly the following line that was repeated over and over again during my HOBY program: ‘We have an incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.’ It’s a line that I try to live by to this very day, knowing that the educational opportunities that I have been blessed with ought to be available to every American child. And yet, dramatic inequality plagues our schools along geographic, socioeconomic, and racial lines and every 30 seconds a student drops out of high school. We can and must do better for all our children, because how we take care of our nation’s future says everything about each of us," states Aaron.
Our Education’s long-term vision is to build a powerful voice for students themselves—like an AARP for youth—to influence elected officials to make schools a number one priority in America. They envision having chapters of Our Education students working across the country with an active role in local school decisions as well as state and federal education policy and budgeting. With more than three hundred students going through their training this summer, Our Education is well on its way towards making a national impact.