December 6, 2017 - Sophomore Annie Gottinger has been named Badger High School’s 2017-2018 Hugh O’Brien Youth (HOBY) Leadership Seminar representative.

Held at Edgewood College in Madison from June 8-10, 2018, the goals of the program are to:

• Seek out, recognize and develop leadership potential commencing with high school sophomores
• Encourage and assist students in their quest for self-development and self-identification
• Introduce tomorrow’s leaders to today’s recognized leaders through informal give-and-take discussions on a variety of current and critical topics
• Provide through this exposure the opportunity to explore free enterprise, the democratic process and community service.

Traits that make good HOBY candidates include outstanding communication skills, charismatic personality, courage to challenge authority, sensitivity to the needs of others, creative problem solving, community service, courage to speak out for one’s beliefs, strong decision-making skills and critical/creative thinking.

Teachers for “showing leadership and service in and out of the classroom” nominated Annie.  "I feel incredibly honored to be nominated by multiple teachers who believed that I demonstrate leadership,” Gottinger stated.

While at the seminar, Annie hopes to learn about new ways to serve the community and improve leadership skills in and out of the classroom. “I also hope to be able to bring back skills from HOBY to other students at Badger to promote more community service and leadership at Badger and around the community,” she said.