Christenson persuaded Manwaring to accept a position to head the English Department at Ricks. Neither Hyrum nor Bessie had ever been to Rexburg and knew little about the Academy. Perhaps not coincidentally, Manwaring was asked to deliver the "oration" at Ricks the following July. His initial impression of the town and the campus left him "stunned, bewildered, and seriously disappointed." But then, he said, he caught a vision of a bright future for the institution, a dream strengthened when he met the "energetic and eager" student body.