11/01/2026

Charting the Unknown: Putting Possibility on the Map

By Kathi Brown

November is National Career Development Month, and this year we can do more than celebrate our profession. We can invite people to imagine what might come next. The theme for NCDA’s 2026–2027 National Career Development Month Poetry and Art Contest is Charting the Unknown: Mapping Your Future – Paths, Pivots, and Possibilities.

For those of us who work in career development, the theme feels familiar. Every day, we meet people standing somewhere between what they know and what comes next. Some are excited about the future, while others are uncertain. Some have a plan. Others have watched their plans change unexpectedly or are still trying to figure out where they want to go. We know that uncertainty is part of career development. But the unknown is also where exploration begins.

Creating Space for Possibility
The Poetry and Art Contest is more than a contest. It is an invitation to explore. Creative expression offers a way to explore interests, identity, aspirations, transitions, and possible futures. A poem can give words to something someone has not yet articulated. A drawing or photograph can represent a future that is still taking shape or a collage might bring together interests and possibilities that seemed unrelated.

For career development professionals, these creative experiences can open doors to conversations beyond a traditional assessment or the familiar question, “What do you want to do?” Instead, they allow us to ask:

• Where might you go?
• What matters to you?
• What has shaped your journey?
• What could your future look like?
• What happens if your plan changes?
• What possibilities have you not considered yet?

These questions do not require an immediate answer. They invite reflection, curiosity, and exploration—and that is at the heart of Charting the Unknown.

Imagine What Could Happen
Imagine a middle school student creating a picture of a future they have never talked about before. Imagine a high school student writing about the pressure of trying to choose the “right” future. Imagine a college student creating an art piece about changing majors after realizing their original plan no longer fits. Or imagine an adult putting into words what it feels like to start over after years in the same career.

Now imagine those activities leading to conversations—with a teacher, counselor, career coach, parent, advisor, or friend—about what they created and why. That is where the contest can become something larger. A piece of art or poetry may be the finished product, but the process of creating it can become a career-development opportunity: a chance to reflect, explore, ask questions, tell a story, or imagine a possibility that had not seemed visible before.

Permission to Explore
 It is significant to note that this year’s contest theme includes the word unknown. As career development professionals, we spend a great deal of time helping people prepare for what comes next. We teach planning, decision-making, goal setting, and career-management skills. All of those things matter, but sometimes people also need permission not to know yet. It is the not knowing that allows for questions, and those questions create room for exploration. Exploration can lead to discovery and discovery can change someone’s direction.

Charting the Unknown recognizes that a career journey does not have to begin with certainty. The Poetry and Art Contest gives people permission to spend time without requiring them to have all the answers. It gives people the space to not identify a perfect career or develop a five-year plan.  We are simply asking that they be willing to imagine.

Putting the Opportunity in Someone’s Hands
Career development professionals are connectors, and this is how we make a difference. We connect people with information, resources, education, employers, experiences, and opportunities. We make connections between who they are today and who they might become. When celebrating National Career Development month throughout November, we can extend that role by becoming ambassadors for the Poetry and Art Contest—not simply by distributing information, but by helping create opportunities for people to engage with its message.

• Share the contest with a school counselor who could use the theme with students.
• Send it to an adult education instructor whose learners are preparing for their next chapter.
• Connect with libraries, workforce programs, colleges, community organizations, and colleagues to be the catalyst for exploration.

Put the information in someone’s hands, but also give them a reason to care about it. Ask them to start a conversation and encourage them to create an activity around the theme. Invite them to help someone explore what paths, pivots, and possibilities might mean in their own life.

The contest includes divisions spanning elementary-age participants through adults, giving career development professionals an opportunity to bring this conversation to people at many different stages of their career journey.

What Possibility Would You Put on the Map?
National Career Development Month gives us an opportunity to make career development visible. The Poetry and Art Contest gives us a creative way to do it. Our role need not stop at promoting the contest. We can use it to spark reflection and start conversations. We can use it to help someone become curious about a possibility they have never considered. When someone says, “I wouldn’t know what to create,” perhaps we can begin with one question:

If you didn’t have to know exactly where you were going, what possibility would you put on your map? That is where Charting the Unknown begins. Not with certainty, but with curiosity. Not with having the perfect plan, but with giving ourselves permission to explore what might be possible. Sometimes, all it takes is an invitation.

Celebrate National Career Development Month
This November, everyone in the field of career development is invited to celebrate National Career Development month. For more information about NCDA’s National Career Development Month and the 2026–2027 NCDA Poetry & Art Contest, visit www.NCDA.org or view the NCD Month brochure or contact Dr. Kimberly Carothers, Chair of the National Career Development Month Committee, at kimberlycarothers8@gmail.com.

Kathi Brown, M. Psych. is a dedicated career development professional whose work reflects a strong commitment to expanding access to career resources, empowering individuals, and strengthening communities through education, advocacy, and strategic engagement. As a Career Resource Coordinator at Doña Ana Community College, she supports career development and adult education initiatives that help individuals explore opportunities, build skills, and navigate their professional pathways. Her diverse background spans career services, case management, program leadership, youth development, and community-based initiatives, bringing a collaborative, people-centered perspective to the evolving world of work. Through her commitment to lifelong learning, leadership, and inclusive career development, Kathi champions the importance of helping individuals recognize their potential, navigate transitions, and chart meaningful pathways toward their futures. She can be reached at KBrown@dacc.nmsu.edu