KANSAS CITY, MO, Oct. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For generations, young people have been asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This November, The DeBruce Foundation is inviting adults to ask something different. Its “Change the Question” campaign for National Career Development Month offers free classroom activities for educators and a Thanksgiving conversation guide for families to help young people explore their strengths, interests, and the many futures open to them.
The campaign responds to a gap between how young people feel about their futures and how prepared they are to pursue them. The DeBruce Foundation’s 2026 report, How to Talk with Youth About Careers in the Age of AI, surveyed 702 U.S. youth ages 16 to 24. While 85% said they are at least somewhat confident they will achieve their career goals, 44% said they have little or no idea what they need to do to prepare.
To help close that gap, “Change the Question” encourages adults to ask open-ended questions that spark curiosity and celebrate skills, such as:
- What are you really good at?
- What do you want to learn next?
- How many futures can you imagine?
“When we ask young people ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’, we inadvertently signal that they have to narrow their focus to a single path,” said Dr. Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, Executive Director and COO of The DeBruce Foundation. “‘Change the Question’ is about sparking curiosity, discovering what they're good at and what excites them, and giving them the confidence to imagine the many possible futures ahead of them.”
The campaign offers two free resources:
- The Classroom Challenge: Educators, coaches, and youth leaders are invited to try one free career literacy activity with young people during November. The classroom-ready activities help students explore their Agilities and career possibilities, and see that they don’t have to choose just one future. Learn more at agilities.org/challenge.
- The Thanksgiving Conversation Guide: Free conversation cards and a guide to help families talk about what young people enjoy, what they do well, and where those qualities could take them. With questions for adults and young people to ask each other, the guide invites everyone to share experiences and learn from one another. Download the guide at agilities.org/thanksgiving.
In classrooms and around the holiday table, adults can help young people see more possibilities for their futures and build confidence in how to pursue them. Access the free resources at debruce.org/november.
About The DeBruce Foundation
The DeBruce Foundation is a national foundation dedicated to expanding pathways to economic growth and opportunity. Through tools like the Agile Work Profiler™ and strategic partnerships, The Foundation helps individuals discover their strengths, explore career possibilities, and pursue meaningful pathways across the lifespan. Learn more at www.DeBruce.org.
Attachments
