It was fun to watch – a gaggle of high school kids, most of them strangers, taking their first steps to becoming a team. A few weeks ago, most of the 100 incoming freshmen students selected for the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps came together at the Donaghey Student Center for their orientation.

Jacob Giffin of Bryant, Cherie King of Searcy, Joe GilbeauIt of Harmony Grove, Kortney Berry of Little Rock Mills, and Kenya Brown of West Memphis and the others started off as strangers.

That began to breakdown when Logan Hampton, director of student development, suggested a little ice breaker. He got the group up on their feet and asked them to organize themselves according to birthday. It forced everyone to engage each other.That’s when the fun began.

Early leaders instantly emerged. Stephen Hays of Conway, a recent graduate of Conway Christian High School, stood on a bench and announced above the uproar that his birthday was in November and suggested any Octobers and Decembers should gather around him.

They started talking to one another, meeting each other, shaking hands. There was even little flirting going on. After that, no one was a stranger.