What if, instead of asking young people what they want to do with their lives, we first helped them discover who they are and what they want to contribute to the world?

In this episode of Potentiality, I welcome Dr. Narine Makijan, counselor, educator, author, and Assistant Vice President and Chair of the Los Angeles Regional Consortium (LARC), where she helps connect education and workforce opportunities across 19 community colleges in Los Angeles County. She is also a professor at the USC Rossier School of Education.

Born in Iran to an Armenian family, Narineh immigrated to the United States and became a first-generation college graduate. Her experiences navigating systems not always designed for students like her shaped a career devoted to expanding opportunity and a conviction that education should help young people discover their purpose, not simply prepare them for a job.

Together, we explore how purpose emerges through experience: encountering unfamiliar possibilities, working alongside mentors, trying new roles, making mistakes, and discovering where abilities, interests, values, and contributions intersect. Drawing on Swiss and German apprenticeship models, Dr. Makijan envisions education where real-world learning is integral, pathways remain flexible, and students demonstrate mastery rather than simply accumulate seat time.

We examine barriers that keep capable students from accessing opportunity. Narineh asks not only whether young people are ready for college and work, but whether our institutions are ready for them. Her work connects counseling, colleges, employers, and communities to make meaningful opportunities the norm rather than a matter of luck.

Our conversation also asks: What does it mean to become fully human in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence? Drawing on Beyond the Algorithm, Dr. Makijan argues that technology should deepen human connection, not replace it. Through Sophia's Garden of Virtues, coauthored with her daughter, she reminds us that kindness, integrity, courage, and compassion matter as much as credentials or achievement.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why purpose must come before career decisions
• How real-world experiences help young people discover who they are
• Why apprenticeships, mentorship, and meaningful failure matter
• How flexible pathways open doors without locking students into one future
• Why access and ability must never be confused
• How to move from isolated programs to systemic opportunity
• Why demonstrated mastery matters more than seat time alone
• How parents can support teens who seem directionless or disengaged
• What human-centered AI means for education and counseling
• Why character, virtue, and contribution belong at the heart of success

One essential reminder here: a young person who appears unmotivated may simply not have encountered something meaningful yet. Direction often emerges through exploration, not pressure.

This is a conversation about education worthy of young people's potential, helping them find not just a way to make a living, but a meaningful way to live.

Guest Resources:

Los Angeles Regional Consortium: https://losangelesrc.org
Books: Beyond the Algorithm; Sophia's Garden of Virtues

What We Discuss:

[01:50] Why Purpose Must Come Before Career Decisions
[05:19] How Real-World Experiences Help Young People Discover Who They Are
[10:34] Beyond the Algorithm: Human Connection in the Age of AI
[13:46] Are Our Educational Systems Ready for the Students They Serve?
[17:06] How Early College and Career Pathways Expand Possibility
[20:07] Why Counseling Alone Cannot Overcome Structural Barriers
[25:08] Directionless Teens: Why Exploration Matters More Than Pressure
[29:18] How Apprenticeships, Mentorship & Meaningful Failure Shape Young People
[34:06] Raising Humans of Character: Why Virtues Matter
[38:10] Beyond Seat Time: Demonstrated Mastery and Educational Success
[45:56] Nurturing Human Potential in the Age of AI