Rancho High student attends leadership conference in D.C.

Thursday, July 25, 2002 | 8:46 a.m.

A Rancho High School student is honing his leadership skills in Washington this week at the Hugh O'Brian Youth World Leadership Conference.

Ricardo Becerra joins fellow Nevadans Christopher Driscoll of Bishop Manogue High School in Sparks and Susan Hunter from Robert McQueen High School in Verdi at the six-day international youth summit.

The 16-year-old junior is participating in an international youth forum with 300 other students from all 50 states and more than 30 nations.

"It's a great opportunity to try to develop my leadership potential that I have already shown to the administration at Rancho," Becerra said, calling during a break in activities at the conference.

Becerra said he has spent most of the time at the World Leadership Conference discussing politics with his roommate, who hails from Sierra Leone, Africa.

Becerra, who attends Rancho's aviation academy and wants to be a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, was first selected to represent his school at the state HOBY conference. His leadership there led local organizers to select him to represent Southern Nevada at the HOBY World Leadership Conference.

HOBY was started by actor Hugh O'Brian, television's Wyatt Earp, as a way of honoring outstanding sophomores and inspiring them to excellence in leadership.