08/22/2026
Friday morning, we welcomed our first guest speaker of the year.
And I don’t think I could have asked for a better person to start us off.
Wendy Symer knows the walk from the front door of Wisper Internet to our meeting room well. As our Silver Creek Area CEO Board Chair and one of the driving forces behind bringing CEO to our area, she’s made that walk many times. But Friday, our students wanted to make it feel a little different.
Bella, our first CEO of the Day, was waiting outside for Wendy to arrive, along with Teagan, who was our videographer for the day. Three more students who will be taking their turn as CEO of the Day were waiting just inside the doors to watch the process. As Wendy made her way down the hallway, students were scattered along the way, stepping forward to introduce themselves and shake her hand. It was intentional. We wanted Wendy to feel more than welcome, and I think that small moment said a lot about what we’re trying to build in this class.
Before turning the morning over to the students, Wendy shared a little of her own story. She grew up in Lebanon at Legendary Morgan Farms, the horse farm that has been in her family for three generations. She has spent much of her life raising Morgan Horses and has even raised a registered World Champion.
In 2010, Wendy took another leap and started WLS Consulting, where she works with small business owners and their teams to build cultures that grow both people and profitability. She also spent 17 years teaching speech at McKendree.
So when Wendy told our students, “I really want today to be about you,” she had a lot of experience to draw from.
And that’s exactly what she did.
We are only a few days into this journey, and the students are still getting comfortable with one another. They’re learning when to speak up, when to listen and how much of themselves they’re ready to share. Friday gave them a lot of opportunities to do just that.
Wendy took them through Leadership Foundations, working through a series of exercises one section at a time. Students wrote, talked with different classmates, listened to each other, shared their answers and then moved on to the next section. Little by little, the personalities started to unfold.
Kaiden talked about his dad, describing him as a strong leader and a great listener. He said he strives to be like him. Patrick shared about his grandfather, who inspired him through his own story of perseverance and entrepreneurship. Tyler talked about an older friend who continues to be there for him, offering advice and helping him stay grounded in his moral integrity.
Then Wendy asked them to look in the mirror.
What are you good at?
Where do you have room to grow?
Matt was honest about his confidence and how difficult it can be for him to put himself out there. Kayla said one of her strengths is that she always gets things done. Then she added that she doesn’t always do them to the best of her ability.
Those aren’t polished answers.
They’re honest ones.
And then came one of my favorite exercises of the morning.
Wendy asked them to imagine they were at their own funeral. What five to fifteen words would they want people to use to describe them?
The room got thoughtful.
Forgiving. Ambitious. Uplifting. Respectful. Faithful. Curious. Hardworking.
And then Teagan gave us one we weren’t expecting.
“Handsome.”
Everyone laughed.
And before Wendy could even respond, Teagan added, “But my next two words are honest and humble!”
Handsome. Honest. Humble.
Three H’s.
The room laughed again.
And honestly, I loved that moment. Because somewhere between the serious self-reflection and the laughter, something was happening.
We were getting to know these kids.
Wendy asked them to think about the challenges and distractions that can keep them from getting where they want to go: phones, procrastination, social pressure and comparing themselves to others.
And then one student said they wanted to understand themselves better before worrying so much about where they were going.
That stopped me.
Because that’s a pretty powerful realization at 17 or 18.
Wendy kept bringing them back to the same idea: know yourself. Know your strengths. Know where you need to grow. Pay attention to the energy you bring into a room.
And don’t spend all your time measuring yourself against where you want to be. Look backward, too. Look at where you were yesterday, last week, last year. Celebrate the progress.
By the end of the morning, the students weren’t just answering Wendy’s questions. They had questions for her. Lots of them.
Chloe wanted to know about the biggest turning point in Wendy’s life. Patrick asked how she found the confidence to leave her job and start her own consulting business. Other students wanted to know about her struggles, her principles, what she looks for in people she works with and what she hopes people will remember about her.
And that may have been my favorite part of the morning.
Because this wasn’t just a group of students answering questions. They were becoming more comfortable sharing their thoughts. They were listening to each other. They were laughing together. They were asking questions.
Trust takes time. Confidence takes time. And so does finding your voice in a new group of people.
Friday felt like one of those small but important steps in that process.
Wendy told them that the mechanics of the activity weren’t what mattered. What mattered was traveling the journey and traveling it together.
I think Friday was a pretty great first step.
Thank you, Wendy, for being our first guest speaker of the year, for spending the morning with our students and for making the day about them.
I think we got to know our students a little better Friday. And I’m pretty sure they got to know themselves a little better, too.
That’s a pretty good way to start Year Two of Silver Creek Area CEO.
