A Good Thing for Your Children’s Personal Branding

New educational pursuits are trending for teen and preteen girls to curb documented evidence that the U.S. is lagging behind other countries in competence in STEM* (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Did you know that while the U.S. has added more than 1 million IT jobs to the labor force, we lack the home-grown talent to fill those jobs? At the same time, high school girls make up just 17 percent of students who take the Advanced Placement Exam in Computer Science. In short, girls and young women are our top, under-developed resource in science and math.

STEM is a national education trend, and the newer approach of STEAM (STEM plus Art) capitalizes on hands-on learning, innovation, and making an impact on the world. An organization on the cutting edge of both is www.PrettyBrainy.com. If you have a preteen or teen daughter, look into Pretty Brainy for her benefit.

I’m proud to say my three-year-old grandniece is getting a head start in the math area. She was happily digging into a cupcake her dad gave her that was piled high with pink frosting and white sprinkles. When her mother asked her, “What’s the best part of your cupcake?” her response was “Two.”

As you work on your own personal branding it will pay to encourage your daughter to also. If she can get into a curriculum inside or outside of her school that emphasizes STEM or STEAM, she’ll be ahead of the game.

Picture of Debra Benton

Debra Benton

D.A. (Debra) Benton has been helping great individuals and organizations get even better for over 20 years. Just as exceptional athletes rely on excellent coaching to hone their skills, Debra's clients rely on her advice to advance their careers. She focuses on what is truly important to convert what you and your organization want to be from a vision into a reality. TopCEOCoaches.com ranks her in the World's Top 10 CEO Coaches noting she is the top female. And as conference keynote speaker she is routinely rated in the top 2%. Her client list reads like a “Who's Who” of executives in companies ranging from Microsoft, McDonald's, Kraft, American Express, Merrill Lynch, United Airlines, and PricewaterhouseCoopers to the Washington Beltway and U.S.Border Patrol. *She is the author of ten award-winning and best-selling business books including The Virtual Executive and CEO Material. She has written for the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Fast Company. She has been featured in USA Today, Fortune, The New York Times, and Time; she has appeared on Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and CBS with Diane Sawyer. To learn more Debra advising leaders, coaching, facilitating a workshop, or speaking: www.debrabenton.com

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