Hobbi Helps in Haiti

Sixteen members of the 2012 University of Southern California Trojan football team, as well as several other USC students and Hope Force staff members, recently returned from a Haiti deployment focused on the "Houses of Hope" project. The team built four homes, participated in a gift distribution for children in the Child Sponsorship Program, delivered supplies to local schools and orphanages, and brought the ministry of presence to a nation still recovering from 2010's devastating earthquake.

Center-Offensive Guard Cyrus Hobbi was among the players who represented the Trojans on the recent Hope Force deployment. Hobbi said that he has done similar work in the U.S. and Mexico, but those experiences were nothing like being in Haiti. "I've never sweated that much," Hobbi said. "My favorite part was spending time with the Haitian people. I liked playing with the kids and scaring them by pretending to be a monster. I really enjoyed getting to help people, and I know I got a lot stronger in the process."

Hobbi is from Scottsdale, Arizona and enrolled at USC in 2011. His high school accomplishments included being named to such teams as the Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American and UnderArmour All-American. During his senior year, Hobbi's high school football team won the Arizona state 4A championship for the fourth time in five years. At USC, he redshirted as a freshman offensive guard in 2011 and won theOffensive Service Team Player of the Year Award despite an arm injury. Next season he will be the Trojan's backup center and offensive guard.

Exposed to a culture very different from their own, the Trojans on the deployment found that their understanding of poverty was broadened exponentially and their team was united through the common experience. As they brought hope to an impoverished nation, the team felt the personal effects such an experience could have on their own lives. Many also feel that the team bonding that occurred on the field in Haiti will transfer to a powerful 'esprit de corps' on the gridiron when the football season starts.

The Trojans are an NCAA Division 1 football team boasting 11 national championships and six Heisman trophy winners since the program was established. In 2009 ESPN solidified the team's reputation as a college football powerhouse by rating the USC football program second best in all of NCAA history. Ranked number one for the 2012 season by ESPN, this year's team is expected to live up to the Trojan standard of excellence.