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Guest blog by Droo Long, Manager of Big Futures, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City
At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City, we are defenders of potential, and part of defending a young adult’s potential is helping them think about their own Big Future. It’s about more than helping them choose a career. It’s about helping them understand themselves, recognize their strengths, explore what is possible, and build the confidence and connections to pursue a future that fits them.
That is the purpose of Big Futures, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City’s workforce development program. Through career exploration, professional networking, internships, and more, Big Futures provides opportunities that help Littles build the knowledge, skills, and connections they need to explore their career aspirations.
The foundation of that work is the Agile Work ProfilerTM.
We use the Agile Work Profiler to help Littles identify their strengths, interests, and ways of working. The AWP introduces Littles to the concept of Agilities—the work skills used in every job.
This changes the conversation.
Instead of simply saying, “I want to be a doctor,” a Little might begin to recognize that they enjoy Developing Others, Communicating, or Organizing. Recognizing those Agilities can help them explore dozens of careers they may never have considered before.
One of our Littles, SaDerra Gill, is a great example of what this can look like in practice. SaDerra recently graduated from North Kansas City High School and is attending Kansas State University to study Health Sciences. When asked about her top three Agilities, SaDerra identified Serving and Caring, Developing Others, and Managing.
SaDerra described these as skills she is good at and enjoys using. She also explained that these Agilities “exemplify who I am as a person” — she has always had a warm heart for helping others and enjoys guiding people. This is exactly the kind of reflection the Agile Work Profiler can help Littles engage in: connecting the skills they use today with future opportunities.
Littles are constantly developing, and their career interests may change many times as they gain new experiences. The goal isn’t to tell a Little what career they should pursue — it’s to help them see their own unlimited potential. It’s about providing them with the terminology to share not just what job they might want, but what skills they will bring to any step in their career journey. By equipping them with knowledge of themselves, their skills, and their potential, we can create a foundation to carry with them from one opportunity to the next.
Discover. Learn. Experience.
The Big Futures program is built around three connected stages: Discover, Learn, and Experience.
Discover helps Littles understand who they are and what interests them. Through the Agile Work Profiler, career exploration, and career information sessions, they identify the work skills they enjoy using and explore their interests, values, and potential pathways.
After identifying areas of interest, Learn provides the knowledge and skills needed to move forward through career readiness workshops, resume and cover letter development, interview preparation, financial literacy education, and professional networking.
Experience gives Littles the opportunity to put their interests and skills into action through workplace visits, job shadowing, paid internships, college campus visits and trade school tours, and career-related volunteer experiences.
Expanding the Definition of What Is Possible
A Little may initially have only a few careers in mind, often careers they have seen through family, school, media, or their immediate community. Exposure changes that.
We host several networking events designed to bring leaders from different industries together with our Littles to share their stories, experiences, and career journeys. These opportunities allow Littles to practice talking about their Agilities and see themselves in careers they may not have previously considered.
Building Confidence Along the Way
Littles also need confidence—the confidence to introduce themselves, ask questions, speak with professionals, apply for an opportunity, walk into an unfamiliar workplace, and imagine themselves belonging there. That confidence grows through repeated experiences.
Recently, a Little Sister attended three different professional networking events at our office. At the first event, she admitted that she was socially anxious and afraid to talk to new people. At the second, she pushed through conversations even though they were nerve-racking. By the third, she showed up without her Big or her parent and thanked every professional for taking the time to meet with her. One of our own staff members initially thought she was a professional there to network with Littles.
This was the result of a Little Sister repeatedly putting herself in situations that challenged her, learning that she could navigate them, and building confidence along the way.
Every Postsecondary Pathway Matters
Big Futures also intentionally avoids defining success as one particular pathway. Littles may pursue:
- Four-year colleges and universities
- Community colleges
- Trade and technical schools
- Apprenticeships
- Military service
- Direct entry into the workforce
There is no single definition of a successful future. Our job is to help Littles understand their options well enough to make informed decisions about their path. All of those pathways start with understanding who they are, what skills they bring, and what possibilities exist for them. That is where the Agile Work Profiler provides such an important foundation.
From Strengths to Opportunity
The Agile Work Profiler helps Littles Discover their work strengths and interests.
Big Futures programming helps them further Learn about careers and pathways.
Real-world opportunities allow them to Experience what those possibilities actually look like.And throughout the process, Littles have their Bigs, professionals, staff, and community members helping them connect the dots. Because ultimately, defending potential means more than helping a Little find a job. It means helping them understand what they bring to the world, recognize the possibilities in front of them, and believe that they have a future worth pursuing.
