They all arrived ten (or more) minutes early.

They’ve been waiting seven months for this morning, when they learned they had been accepted into the program back in January. And now they were finally here. Excited. Nervous. Curious about what the first day of Silver Creek Area CEO would actually look like.

As they walked through the door, I handed each student a portfolio for the year and a single piece of thread.

Four different colors.

No explanation.

They took their seats behind their name tents, and suddenly the room was very, very quiet.

After introducing myself and sharing a little about my “why” for coming to CEO, it was time for our first challenge.

I asked them to take out their piece of thread. Without saying a word, they had to find everyone else in the room with the same color.

And just like that, four groups were formed.

We talked about what they learned from the challenge. Nonverbal communication can be just as effective as verbal communication in the right situation. Sometimes you have to pay attention to what people are saying without actually saying anything at all.

Then came the next challenge: find five things everyone in your group had in common.

I gently steered them away from the obvious answers like, “We’re all high school seniors” or “We’re all in CEO.” Those were true, but I wanted them to dig a little deeper.

Some answers were predictable.

“We’ve all been to Florida.”
“We all love Chick-fil-A.”
“We’re all athletes.”

As I walked around the room observing and listening a couple groups got stumped finding #5.

That’s when Gentry hesitantly offered, almost as if asking for my permission, “Today, we’re all wearing shirts with buttons on them?”

I loved it.

Because when you get stumped, you have to think differently. You have to look around. You have to take visual cues from your environment. You have to be willing to offer an idea, even when you’re not sure it’s the answer someone is looking for.

And that’s exactly what he did.

It may have seemed like a small observation, but it was actually a great example of thinking outside the box.

Next, we took some time to talk about expectations for the year. Our students attended orientation back in May, so today was a chance to refresh everyone on what CEO is all about and what we expect from them throughout the year.

Attendance matters.
Participation matters.
Professional dress matters.
Being prepared matters.

We talked about what to expect during site visits and with guest speakers, weekly journaling, being ready to leave on time, checking the calendar, knowing where we’re going, and even making sure you have gas in your car the night before a site visit!

Because CEO isn’t just about learning entrepreneurship.

It’s about learning how to be responsible, prepared, professional and accountable.

We finished our morning with one more icebreaker, this time focused on listening and verbal communication.

Each student chose an adjective beginning with the same letter as their first name that they felt best described them. Then they partnered with someone outside their original group and spent 5–7 minutes having a conversation. They shared why they chose their adjective and told their partner a little about themselves.

Then came the twist.

They weren’t allowed to simply introduce themselves.

Their partner had to introduce them to the entire class, share the adjective they chose, explain why they chose it, and tell us a little about the person they had just met.

It was a simple activity, but an important lesson.

Listening isn’t just waiting for your turn to talk. It’s paying attention, remembering what someone tells you, and being able to communicate their story to someone else.

And they did a great job.

We ended the morning with our first Class of 2027 picture in front of the Wisper Internet sign.

What a morning.

What a beginning.

And what a year this is going to be.

Welcome to Silver Creek Area CEO, Class of 2027.

We’re just getting started.