Last weekend, I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Central Pennsylvania Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership Seminar held at Shippensburg University. As a 2015 alum, it is always amazing to come back and meet new people and just help out to give ambassadors an outstanding experience. This year, I was a facilitator-in-training for a group of nine amazing ambassadors.

The theme of the 2018 seminar was Shine Bright, My Friends. Over the weekend, ambassadors learned more about themselves as leaders and how to work to “shine bright” in the world.

One of the activities the ambassadors did was called Post Your Goals. Every ambassador received a sticky note. On their sticky note, they wrote about their past, present and future. They could tell about their past- what shaped them, their present- who they are now, and their future- what their goals are for the future. They could write or they could draw, however they felt comfortable to share.

After every ambassador was done, all the sticky notes were collected. The next day, they were all put up on the wall to make a mural.

It was really touching. To be able to see everyone’s hopes and dreams come together to create something so bright and colorful was truly beautiful. I always love when a piece has a deeper meaning, and this was connected to every ambassador in the room.

It was also unexpected. You don’t really go to a leadership seminar and expect to see art. But art really is everywhere.