Nearly 4 million high school graduates step into an uncertain job market each year (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2024), and the advice they receive—“follow your passion,” “choose something practical,” “make as much money as you can”—often leaves them stressed, burned out, and directionless. This episode features Jordan H. Davis' signature keynote, "Eliminate 'Career Fear' Through Design Thinking", which he delivered to over 500 middle and high school students at Montanan FCCLA's State Leadership Conference. He introduces design thinking, the foundation of what Jordan now calls his Problem-Centered Careers framework. Instead of starting with résumés, majors, or passions, Jordan encourages high school and college students to think about vocational identity development and career decision-making with a problem-focused lens, starting with examining the issues in their communities and world that they feel compelled to solve.

Drawing from design thinking, trauma-informed practice, and social impact innovation, Jordan explores how young people and adults alike can reframe their career choices around meaning, sustainability, and wellbeing. Whether you’re a student, educator, or CTSO advisor or director, this episode is a window into how we'll need to think about work as we head into the next quarter-century. 

4 Reasons Gen Z Is Struggling To Land A New Job In 2025 (Forbes, 2025)

Job searching in 2025? It's a mess no matter how old you are. (Business Insider, 2025)

In the job market, Gen Z is cooked [Podcast] (Washington Post, 2025) 

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Jordan H. Davis dives into the implications of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential win for higher education and its stakeholders. Jordan begins with an instant reaction to the election outcome, likening finally losing a game to a sore loser that you’re just relieved is over (6:37), and then delves into Trump’s agenda for restructuring the Department of Education and the potential impact on student loans (11:41). The conversation moves to state-level legislation, exploring how faculty and staff migrations might intensify, and the risk of further racial and ideological segregation of across higher ed (17:27). Jordan also examines the future of HBCUs and affirmative action under Trump’s policies (28:55), and how these changes may demand new teaching approaches as students bring increasingly complex needs into classrooms (32:44). 

Follow the House Races: https://www.npr.org/2024/11/07/g-s1-33301/2024-house-seats-undecided-control 

Katherine Knott - Republicans Could Abolish the Education Department. How Might That Work? (Insider Higher Ed): https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2024/11/04/what-abolishing-education-department-could-mean 

Follow JD on socials: https://linktr.ee/jd_speaks 

HSW is hosted, produced and edited by Jordan H. Davis. Jordan an inclusive pedagogy specialist and founder of JD Speaks LLC, through which he offers professional development for K-12 and college educators. 

Visit jdspeaks.com/educators to learn more 

In this episode of Help Students Win, host JD chops it up with Goutham Yegappan, host of the Re-Educated Podcast and independent data science instructor. They discuss the state of philosophy and general education curriculum in higher ed, the theory and practice behind belongingness, and what he learned in his recent research on community learning in Tamil Nadu, India.

What does it actually mean to "build community" among students?

What role can general education curriculum play in teaching students how to build a sense of community in their curricular and extracurricular engagements?

And what can the US learn from villages like Tamil Nadu, India when it comes to promoting community learning?

The answers, and more, on this week's episode of Help Students Win. 

HSW is hosted, produced and edited by Jordan H. Davis. Jordan an inclusive pedagogy specialist and founder of JD Speaks LLC, through which he offers professional development for K-12 and college educators.

Visit jdspeaks.com/educators to learn more 

What are the core components that every school district needs to prevent bullying and see gains in student success? What are the tools that school counselors need to transform school culture? And what role do phones and technology play in all of this? Dr. Allison Paolini joins the show to answer these questions and more on this episode of Help Students Win ----- Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jdspeaks./videos ----- Are you looking for a speaker for your next conference, professional development day, school assembly, or upcoming event? Visit https://www.jdspeaks.com/ to learn about how Jordan can serve your audience. ----- Connect with Dr. Paolini on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-allison-paolini-ph-d-ncc-a74a9a30/