In today’s competitive job market, students need more than just good grades—they need a clear understanding of their strengths and how to showcase them. This career exploration activity, designed for Colorado Career Advising (CCA) programs, helps students reflect on their unique strengths, behaviors and motivators while creating a project that can be used in job applications, college admissions, or internships. Using career assessment tools like the Colorado Career Advising Tool, students will gain deeper self-awareness and leave with a portfolio, video, or essay that confidently answers the question:
What makes you awesome?
The Goal: | Students leave with a completed creative project they can showcase to employers and include in post-secondary applications. |
Materials
Colorado Career Advising Tool Results
Access to computers or materials for a creative project
Step 1: Give students one class period to look through the Strengths, Behaviors and Motivators sections of their CCA Tool Results and explore the following set of questions:
What makes you awesome?
What are you interested in?
When have you excelled in school or life?
When have you you overcome challenges in school or life?
When have you used your motivators and strengths in school or life?
Step 2: Ask students to create something that explains why they are awesome. It could be a portfolio, blog, YouTube video, presentation, essay, personal website (Wix.com, Weebly.com, Squarespace.com), collage or any other creative form they want to explore. This can be done in class over the span of a few periods or even assigned for homework over a few weeks.
Step 3: Have students present their final project. Alternatively, you can have students write a 3-5 paragraph essay showcasing their project that answers the following questions:
What did you do?
What did you learn?
How did you apply the motivators/strengths from your CCA Tool Results to the project?
What makes you awesome?
Note: To guide the conversation around this exercise, pitch it in a way that communicates, “If you can understand what makes you awesome and what makes you come alive, then you can look for colleges and careers that support those characteristics.” If students are struggling with viewing themselves in a positive light, their CCA Tool Results can help reinforce their inherent strengths.
This blog is a rebranded version of “Indigo College and Career Activity: The Awesome Project“, originally published by Indigo Education Company and now adapted for Colorado Career Advising. For questions, contact us at info@coloradocareeradvising.com.