How Noah Got Clear On His Dream Career

NOAH – High School Senior

Situation:

Noah is a Senior in high school and feels overwhelmed with the idea of figuring out the RIGHT college major. He is afraid of making a bad decision that can affect his whole life.

Discussion:

When talking about the things Noah likes to do, he had a lot of typical things for a high school student like hanging out with friends, working out, playing golf and video games. He shared that he likes being creative and does NOT want to work in an office. In fact, he said he was also okay with working outdoors but wanted and needed variety in his environment. It is also important to Noah that he makes a LOT of money. It’s a big motivator for him so that was kept that in mind when discussing his options.

Ah ha! Moment:

One topic that stood out was when Noah talked about golf.

When asked what he liked about golf, Noah said: “I don’t think there is anything I don’t like about golf! I love the restaurants, visiting the pro shop, and playing obviously. I even love the smell of the grass!”

Noah really loved golf!

There was a telling sign when he was talking to his coach about golf. He sat up straighter, leaned into the camera, he started talking faster, his voice went up an octave and his face lit up.

Action Items:

Noah and his coach brainstormed different ways he could get involved in Golf as a career. He knew it would not be playing professionally. They revisited his career assessment and an idea presented itself quickly.

Landscape Architecture was one of the options that had come up for Noah. In fact, he said that he had actually thought about that type of career as an option.

Noah interviewed several residential and commercial Landscape Architects to decide if the career was right for him.

Result:

Noah looked at the list of colleges he was interested in attending and found his top choice had a program for Landscape architecture. The good news was he had already been accepted at this school. He is now attending A&M University, majoring in Landscape Architecture with the intent of designing golf courses.

As Noah progresses in college, he will get exposed to all kinds of opportunities to use his degree in Landscape Architecture. His coach has encouraged him to keep his options open so if a new idea is presented, Noah can adjust his plan to design golf courses if a more interesting idea presents itself. He will be able to apply for internships and get different experiences to help him make decisions on the best career path and first job out of college.

A Glimpse into Noah’s CliftonStrengths:

Ideation®: People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Noah’s Ideation will help him create different golf course designs (figuring out which trees and plants to use, where to place water features and sand traps, etc.)

Harmony®: People especially talented in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don’t enjoy conflict; rather they seek areas of agreement.

Noah’s Harmony will help him when working with vendors, golf course owners, and their teams to solve problems.

When things go wrong:

What if Noah decides he loves residential design and doesn’t want to design golf courses anymore?

This is still a big win! As Noah takes classes and gets more experience under his belt, his ideas on how they apply to Landscape Architecture may change. If he finds another area he loves even more, he can adjust his plan, now and throughout his career.

Parents Takeaway:

When Noah connected the idea of Landscape Architecture with golf as the anchor, he got excited! Keep an eye out for those times your child gets and stays excited about something.

See, you can do something you love!

Noah participated in Pick the RIGHT Major, a group class that helps students determine a career path and the right major or another educational path to support their goal.

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