Helping Your Child Stand Out Without Losing Who They Are
Helping Your Child Stand Out Without Losing Who They Are
What Parents Should Know About Preparing for High School, College, and an AI-Driven Future
A BIS PTA Event with Curious Cardinals Co-Founder & CEO Audrey Wisch
The pressure to prepare for your child's future seems to start earlier and earlier.
Take the hardest classes. Build a passion project. Find an internship. Do research. Win an award. And now, figure out how to use AI without letting it do the thinking for you.
For families, the hardest part isn't finding more things their child could do. It's knowing what actually matters, when it matters, and what's right for their child.
How do you help your child prepare for their future without prematurely turning everything into a college admissions exercise? How do you know when to encourage them to explore, when to push them to go deeper, and when to let something go? And in a world where AI can increasingly produce polished work for anyone, what will actually make a student stand out?
Join Audrey Wisch, Co-Founder & CEO of Curious Cardinals, for a candid conversation about preparing students for the future with more clarity, intention, and confidence.
Drawing on six years of working with more than 15,000 students, Audrey will share real student stories and practical frameworks for helping kids discover genuine interests, develop meaningful skills, and build a strong foundation for what comes next.
What we'll cover
What matters when: What students should focus on in middle school, what changes depending on their grade, which decisions are worth making earlier, and what can wait.
Authenticity + strategy: How students can build a compelling story by going deeper on who they already are rather than manufacturing a "perfect" profile.
Depth over more: How an ordinary interest can grow into research, leadership, an internship, an award, a publication, or an original project.
The new definition of standing out in an AI world: Where AI can amplify a student's curiosity and capabilities, and where relying on it can undermine the very qualities colleges and the world increasingly value.
A clearer roadmap: How parents can help their child make thoughtful choices, develop independence, and prepare for the years ahead without constantly wondering whether they're doing enough or missing something.
The goal isn't to help students do more.
It's to help them figure out what is worth doing, and give them the confidence and direction to take it somewhere meaningful.
Families will leave with a clearer roadmap for the years ahead and a better answer to one of the hardest questions parents face:
What should my child actually be focusing on next?
About
Audrey Wisch is the Co-Founder and CEO of Curious Cardinals and The FlightPlan. She paused her studies at Stanford in 2020 to build Curious Cardinals and was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 at 19. Over the past six years, Curious Cardinals has supported more than 15,000 students, and Audrey has led more than 200 workshops for parents and educators on education, AI, and preparing students for the future.
The FlightPlan continues that work through a personalized college counseling membership that helps students navigate high school with more clarity and confidence. Combining individualized strategy, tailored opportunities, and ongoing accountability, it helps students figure out what matters most, pursue meaningful experiences, and turn their interests into achievements that reflect who they are.