Giving Back
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Three Ohio Northern University students recently gave back their time to the organization that helped honed their leadership skills back in high school.
Jonathan Digby, a senior molecular biology major from Grand Rapids, Ohio; Alyssa Jones, a junior marketing major from Middletown, Ohio; and Kimberly Chase, a sophomore accounting major from Dover, Ohio, attended Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) conferences as high school sophomores.
HOBY programs allow students selected by their schools to participate in leadership training, service-learning and motivation-building experiences. The programs are conducted annually throughout the United States, serving local and international high school students. This past June, Ohio Northern hosted a HOBY conference of its own.
Digby, Jones and Chase said they had phenomenal experiences as “ambassadors” when in high school and knew they would become counselors if given a chance. Matt Lambdin, director of experiential learning for ONU’s James F. Dicke College of Business Administration, discovered these previous HOBY experiences and approached the trio about becoming counselors when the conference to come to ONU.
Throughout the conference weekend, Digby, Jones and Chase served as positive motivators and role models for the high school sophomores, moderating sessions, leading groups in team-building activities and working alongside the students in service activities.
“The goal of HOBY is to help students realize the breadth of their potential and inspire them to push themselves further to serve their communities,” Digby says.
HOBY must have the right mindset, because Chase, Digby and Jones continue to use the skills they initially learned at HOBY to serve the ONU campus community.
Digby was HOBY’s director of service projects this year and has been a senior facilitator in the past. At ONU, Digby served as a head resident for the Office of Residence Life and was the vice president of ONU Circle K, a service group affiliated with the Kiwanis. He has also taken several trips to Mexico as a volunteer for construction work in Monterrey.
Jones is a member of the social sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, Leaders’ Council and Ada Friends. She volunteered in high school and continues to volunteer more than 200 hours annually.
Even as a freshman, Chase jumped headfirst into the leadership opportunities that ONU organizations offer. She was elected assistant vice president and housing manager of her social sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, and she serves as the treasurer of Alpha Lambda Delta, the freshman women’s honorary society.
Jamienne Scott
Junior communication arts major from Columbus Grove, Ohio