Career Readiness

Empowering Students to Plan for Their Futures

How tools like MyCAP can help educators support positive youth development

Educators play an important role in setting students up for future success—among other things, they foster social emotional skills, help with career exploration, and support executive functioning. And these are just some of the ways they support academic growth, self-awareness, and identity formation, all in service of connecting students to a brighter future.

For this Conversations with the Dean, Dean Penny Bishop is joined by Scott Solberg, BU Wheelock professor and co-director of the Center for Future Readiness. Also joining the conversation is Erin Jaques, assistant director of college & career advising programs for Boston Public Schools, as well as Sugeily Santos, a grades 7–8 school counselor, Curley K–8, and Jodi Then, a high school counselor at Boston Green Academy. They explore the ways educators can support positive youth development in school settings and discuss MyCAP (My Career and Academic Plan), a holistic, multi-year planning tool that engages students in planning for their futures.

Highlights from the Conversation

Knowing where to start

Sometimes [students] just have to sort of dial back and tune out the noise and just think about what is it that brings them happiness. . . . And if they can’t find that, that’s okay, too. And I like to let them know that sometimes knowing what you don’t like is just as important as knowing what you like, and that’s a starting point. And I think for the grade level that I work with, having a starting point is the most important because that can take you anywhere.

Jodi Then

Aspiring to a better future

MyCAP’s about identity. It’s about [students] seeing themselves in places they never would have thought about. And it’s so powerful. And we’ve got great longitudinal data that really shows that when they start aspiring to something that they didn’t think of before, they get better earnings as young adults. They’re more likely to be employed as young adults.

Scott Solberg

A sense of purpose

We know that having a sense of purpose actually has all kinds of positive impact—mental health, academic performance, life satisfaction. When our young people feel a sense of purpose in life, they will have better lives.

Dean Penny Bishop

Conversations with the Dean are a series of webinars hosted by Dean Bishop that explore some of the most pressing topics in education. Learn more about Conversations with the Dean.