Unlock Your Multiple Purposes

Adam is the co-founder of Point B, which is a startup tech platform that helps young people find purpose and exposure to post secondary options. He has spent his career building organizations that provide young people with life-changing opportunities. Adam founded and led Marshall Street Initiatives, which now serves over 100,000 students per year through teacher certification, leadership development, and technical assistance. Previously, Adam led the design and launch of Summit Public Schools’ learning model and the Summit Learning Program, which serves tens of thousands of families and hundreds of communities in nearly every state 

Adam and David talk about the need to help young people find purpose in their life as young adults to approach life after high school. After 20 years of working at Summit Public Schools, Adam discusses his vision for Point B which serves to solve this problem for young people. Adam explored this issue as part of his dissertation for his doctorate that he recently completed. 

David and Adam discuss the changing landscape of what choices young adults have after high school outside of college. We moved from college for the select few to college for all over the last 20 years in education reform. David shares his vision for giving students multiple options after high school based on their deepest passions, not just what they think they should do. 

Adam shares the troubling statistics of the issues with college loan debt and how it affects students of color most. This issue has led to more investment in community college and apprenticeship programs and industry certifications. Point B wants to help the students that have not found economic mobility through post secondary education. What are some of the tangible skills that young people can develop in a search for a purposeful life. 

David then discusses his own personal stories of searching for purpose throughout his life and how important it is to help young people discover in addition to people of all ages. And, purpose does not have to be one thing. There are multiple things in many areas of your life. Adams shares the 4 elements of purpose from the book The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life by William Damon.  

Adam shares his passion around helping young people find their multiple purposes and a pathway to happiness because he doesn’t want to talk to young people who feel shame around not following a path that is validated by society. 

David and Adam finish by sharing how they wish they had a service like Point B to help them navigate their purpose, get the support, and feel uplifted and hopeful about their future. 

Check out Adam’s work in the following publications: 

the 74, EdSurge, EdWeek, and Edutopia.

You can learn more about Point B here: https://www.mypointb.org/

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend. 

What is Changemaker ED“U”?

Welcome to Changemaker ED“U”, a podcast that inspires powerful individual and collective transformation by sharing leadership, personal development, and education changemaking ideas and stories to ignite people like you to create the change deep within your soul, embody your calling, and bring your dreams to life. I am your host David K. Richards, and I share wisdom from my 25+ years as an education innovator, school founder & CEO, mindset teacher, and leadership coach while also interviewing other diverse paradigm shifters. Join me in our grassroots movement to create lasting impact in education one changemaker at a time.