Thursday, June 12 - First Day

The 2008 HOBY Conference kicked off today with the arrival of this year's new ambassadors. They were greeted by the enthusiastic junior and senior facilitators, jumping right into HOBY's trademark cheers. After some slight hesitation on behalf of the nervous newcomers, they were soon giving the staff a run for their money, shouting along with the best of them.

After registration and cheers, the ambassadors were taken to the Rossin Campus Center, where the President of Washington and Jefferson College, Tori Haring-Smith, greeted them with a brief history of the school and welcomed them to the campus. The ambassadors were then treated to the wise motivational words of Rick Grandinetti, the founder and CEO of Vision Planning, Inc., who was back for his third year, impressing upon the ambassadors the importance of today.

After an hour break for lunch with representatives of several Pennsylvania colleges, the ambassadors attended panel sessions on education and the important aspects of a good application. The session contained a question-and-answer portion and was followed by a college fair and a tour of the Washington and Jefferson campus.

Group photos were taken of the HOBY ambassadors and staff, followed by more cheering, until the ambassadors were taken to dinner. Dinner was followed by panel sessions on the media and communication, which were entitled: "Advertising and National Media: Influencing Opinions" and "The Future of the Newspaper, e-Media, and Local News."

The ambassadors were then taken outside to get to know one another better through icebreakers and team-building activities. The day ended with a period of reflection, in which the ambassadors were given the opportunity to vocalize their thoughts on the day's activities.