Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) was founded by actor Hugh O'Brian in 1958 after Dr. Albert Schweitzer impressed upon him that "the most important thing in education is to teach young people to think for themselves. Our mission is to inspire and develop our global community of youth and volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation. Our programs are conducted annually worldwide and serve high school students by providing them with unique leadership training, service-learning, and motivation-building exercises. For over forty years, HOBY New York Metro has furthered HOBY's mission by hosting an annual three-day leadership seminar at a local university campus. Each year, our seminar hosts over 150 student ambassadors, selected by their high schools, to represent the best young leaders from New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and Rockland areas.