Actress and entrepreneur Tanya Wright shares how to pick a career path: follow your curiosity using free online resources, create solutions that don't exist yet (like her Harriet of Harlem literacy program), and build a supportive tribe of teachers and mentors to turn passions into real opportunities.
Welcome to youth career readiness, the one question podcast.
I'm Jean Eddy.
And I'm Michael Horne.
And this is the podcast where we talk to people across careers about their professional journeys and what advice they would.
Offer to help all middle and high schoolers explore, experiment with, and discover careers. Today, I'm thrilled that Tanya Wright is joining us. Tanya is an actress known for her roles in television series such as the Cosby show and Orange is the New Black. She's also the founder of the Harriet of Harlem educational system with its iconic character, big hair Harriet.
Tanya, it's great to have you on. When a middle or high school kid asks you for career advice, what do you say?
Advice I would give to a middle schooler. Ooh, it's exciting time. I would say that my advice would come in three parts. The first thing I would do, I would encourage them to follow their interests. Is it cars? Is it butterflies? Get real curious about your interests. There are tons of videos on YouTube about the thing that you are interested or the things that you are interested in. There's a plethora of information available on the world Wide web that is absolutely 100 free to access, and you should be all in it. So follow your curiosity. Whatever that thing is that sets your heart afire, go there. Second, if you don't see what you want, you can make it up. So that's called entrepreneurship. So I am an entrepreneur. I had an idea about helping children read that I had not seen done before, and I created a character, this little girl, her name is Harriet, and a program to do that. So, yeah, so, so. So the second. Second piece of advice is that if you don't see something that you believe should be in the world, you can and should make it, with the caveat that the world has to need it. This path would require some sacrifice, some discipline. It will be joyful. It will be thrilling. It will be scary. It may be lonely sometimes, but you should pursue this path if you are urged on to create something that does not yet exist in the world. And the third thing that I would say is to find your tribe. So if there is something that you're interested in, you might not have seen anyone do this thing, whatever it is, that would be a great opportunity to talk to your teachers, talk to your parents and adults. How are we going to help our kids connect with those people who have been successful in the world of the thing that the child wants to do? So what a great opportunity for a parent or a teacher or a caregiver to be involved in helping a child, a middle schooler on their path to a career. But probably the final and most important thing is to have fun. Everything in this life is a learning opportunity. And you're not always sure how the dots connect, but I can tell you that they do and they will. This little puppet that I created, Harriet, and her reading program here, is a bit of a mess. But this was a combination of everything that I've done in my life. Acting, writing, being an educator, focusing my studies on literacy and reading and children. And I created something in the world that I hadn't quite seen before. And I was able to find a tribe, a tribe of people who care as much as I do about children and families and created a thing that the world needs. And that gives me a lot of joy. So, anyway, go out in the world, have all the fun in the world, and know that you are loved and you are safe and be curious and enjoy this life.
And that's all we've got on the Youth Career Readiness, the One Question podcast.
Thank you for tuning in, and we'll see you next time for more tips, tips and insights.
