What Will a Ten-Year-Old Actually Remember?

A big thank you to Caitlin Maxwell for giving me the opportunity to speak at Career Week. While preparing, I kept asking myself one simple question: what will a ten-year-old actually remember? Not job titles. Not responsibilities.

I didn't want to lecture them about careers. I spoke the way I do with my own daughter, like a friend sharing small stories that helped me along the way. A story. A feeling. A small idea they can quietly carry for years.

So I built the session around the tiny truths that shaped me: the bee, a tiny creature working all day to create one spoon of honey, a reminder that small steps, done with heart, add up. The water drop and the rock, showing how consistency, not intensity, shapes the strongest things in nature. My school skit moment, a shy boy hiding behind taller classmates until a teacher called my name, five seconds that changed everything.

In between those stories, we spoke about something deeper: the importance of gratitude, caring for people, and caring for the planet. Whether it's remembering the people who help us grow or respecting the planet that holds all of us together, kids understood this faster than we imagine.

We closed with my favorite reminder, life lessons from a dog, because sometimes the greatest teachers walk on four legs: live in the moment, run and play daily, drink water and rest, let go quickly, be curious.

If the session sparked even one tiny thought in a young mind, that's good enough. Small steps, toward a big future.