Thursday Morning Club Honors MHS Student Lebwohl With Scholarship

Michael Lebwohl, son of Sally and David Lebwohl of Madison, was the recipient of a Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership scholarship.

The scholarship, sponsored by the Thursday Morning Club, is awarded to a sophomore at in good academic standing who is also president of the class. 

Lebwohl attended a three-day O’Brian Leadership Seminar at Monmouth University in June.

Lebwohl related his experiences at the club’s annual scholarship fundraising event held on Jan. 19 at the . In her opening remarks, Diana Krug, the club’s Education Chairwoman, said that "over 375,000 students from 50 states and 16 countries have participated in HOBY workshops over the last five decades to improve critical thinking skills and to enhance leadership abilities. HOBY’s leadership opportunities help students to achieve their highest potential."

Brett Levine, Director of Guidance Counseling at Madison High School, introduced Lebwohl on behalf of Principal Gregory Robertson. Levine noted that Lebwohl is active in football, spring track, and plays the trombone in the orchestra and in the marching band. He is also currently vice president of the junior class and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. One of the goals of HOBY is to encourage volunteerism and to create service opportunities for others.          

Lebwohl, who is interested in Physics and Environmental Science, said he enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow science enthusiasts. The students and counselors worked together in teams on individual marketing projects to build and sell an idea. Lebwohl’s team created a construction-paper yearbook to serve as a lasting memory of the HOBY experience. Lebwohl said that he was surprised at his enthusiasm in selling the ‘yearbook.’      

The Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership was named after its founder, the Hollywood actor who starred in the lead role of the ABC television series, “Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” from 1955-61. O’Brian founded HOBY in 1958, after spending nine days working with Dr. Albert Schweitzer in what was then French Equatorial Africa. Schweitzer, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952, told O’Brian that the most important thing in education is to teach young people to think for themselves. 

For information about the Thursday Morning Club or membership, call the Community House at 973-377-0244 or visit www.TMCMCH.org.