From the Founder

We in America are facing a paradigm shift, and so are you as parents. No longer can you just hope your teen will get a job, let alone a great job.

Today, more than ever, you need to prepare your child for the future (for more, view this video). If you properly prepare your child:

  • Your college dollars will not go to waste. Think of the many parents – perhaps you – who spent tens of thousands only to see their child directionless about their career -- and their future -- upon graduation. What are they doing now?
  • You child will avoid becoming one of the now 30% who drop out of college in their first year due to costs and lack of preparedness. Yes, the dynamics today are leading to more stress about life and success, and it’s hurting our children early on.
  • Your child will be able to compete on the world market. Today, it’s not just about the US. In today’s global world, students need to be able to think and compete on a global scale.
  • Your child will embrace the future and walk forward confidently, more able to succeed in today’s global world.

Why do I care personally and deeply about this issue? I put myself through college and while I succeeded far more than the average kid, the lack of guidance during my high school years was evident. Today, the typical public school has only one guidance counselor per 1,000 students. How can you believe your child will be properly guided about their career, their college, and their life decisions?

Thinking about these issues in college is too late. As one 50-year-old investment banker said: “I wish I had someone when I was a sophomore who told me how to network, how to get an internship, extra curricular activities I should be doing, and why this was all so important. I graduated 17th in my high school class of 1400 but I had no clue that all these other things mattered, like service and work experience. I would have had more college choices and I wouldn’t have been at a loss when I came out of college.”

Through research with families, teens, and experts, we know there is a fundamental lack of preparedness. We teach our kids everything except how to succeed in the real world – how to connect with decision makers, how to affect a company’s bottom line, how to sell yourself, how to think creatively to solve problems and how to use service as a means for building upon one’s success.

It’s time we give our teens the tools and education they need in today’s economy to take control of their futures and lead the lives we know they can.

Jennifer Openshaw

Founder, SuperFutures Academy

Host of ABC Radio’s Winning Advice & Columnist for Dow Jones’ MarketWatch