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Meet the scholarship recipients
Teddy
Zheng
Teddy was selected and sponsored by Hawken School to attend the HOBY Leadership Conference in June 2023. This is Teddy's response to Hawken's HOBY Leadership Conference Prompt.
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“In 100 words or less, please describe the most rewarding and challenging aspect of being a leader in your school and community.”
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Last summer, I noticed Hawken lacked STEM-focused extracurriculars, so I wanted to create a Science Olympiad Team to support STEM at Hawken. Naively, I believed I could manifest a perfect team into existence; however, I instead found that sharing my vision and motivating members proved to be excruciatingly challenging, and often my passion was not shared. Nevertheless, with the help of advisors and parents, I managed to forge forward in the months that passed, and I eventually made progress. More students joined, and I found myself working alongside increasingly dedicated members. There, I found my reward: building a community. - Teddy Zheng
Ethan
zhao
Ethan was nominated and sponsored by the Teddy & Toby Zheng Foundation to attend the HOBY Leadership Conference in June 2024.
Liyang
hu
Liyang was selected and sponsored by Hawken SciOly to attend the HOBY Leadership Conference in June 2025. His team performance and application essay stand out among the three sophomore applicants.
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Here’s a fact: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. But sometimes, it feels better to hold onto the shot than to see it miss.
For as long as I can remember, the fear of failure has caused me to avoid situations where I might not succeed. It stops me from doing things like public speaking, but also leaches into situations where I am a leader. For example, I hesitated to plan Entomology practices because I didn’t want to let anyone down by wasting their time.
Yet, the SciOly team dinner and parent nights were different. Despite my fear, I chose to help at these events and collaborate with others to create meaningful change. Of course, they were good practice on general skills like organization, but those nights were extra impactful because they showed me that my fears were unreasonable. Regardless of my fears, my work was valuable.
So while it is easier to hesitate, the only way to improve is by taking the shots. Naturally, I believe attending HOBY would be the next step to overcoming my fear and becoming a better leader. One of HOBY’s goals is to improve self confidence, aligning perfectly with my own objectives. The group activities and leadership curriculum also empower me to speak up about my own ideas without fear that they will be disapproved. Even though the possibility that I won’t get chosen slightly scares me, I know trying for HOBY is another way I can challenge myself to grow. - Liyang Hu
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