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There’s a question most of us were asked at some point in our childhood.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
It seems harmless enough. Encouraging, even. But Dr. Astrid Kuhn, founder and Interim-Superintendent of ABLE (Academy of Business Literacy and Entrepreneurship) in Calgary’s Beltline, has spent decades thinking about what that question leaves out.
“A job is not a dream,” she told me. “A life is a dream.”
That one sentence stopped me in my tracks. And honestly, it’s the best description of what makes ABLE different that I’ve heard.
Thirty Years of Watching People’s Lives
Before launching ABLE, Astrid built a career that gave her a rare vantage point on how people actually live. She spent fifteen years as a reporter, anchor, host, and producer with CTV, Global, A-Channel, and Corus Entertainment, interviewing business owners, community leaders, tradespeople, artists, and families from every walk of life. Later, she moved into university teaching, where she spent more than a decade in the classroom.
“What fascinated me wasn’t their careers,” she said. “It was the lives they had built.”
Those years in the classroom revealed something that troubled her. On the first day of every course, she’d ask students to paint her a picture of their life ten years from now.
Almost every student started with a job title.
Then she’d push further. Where do you live? Who do you spend your time with? What do you do on weekends? What kind of life do you want?
Most had never thought about it.
“That always made me sad,” she said. “Because somewhere along the way, we had accidentally taught students to focus so much on achievement that they had stopped imagining the bigger picture.”
A Charter School Built on a Better Question
When Astrid was asked to help create a charter school, she couldn’t stop thinking about those university students. What if we reached young people before they were eighteen? What if school helped them discover who they were becoming, not just what they were going to do?
That question eventually became ABLE, located in Calgary’s Innovation and Culture District at 409 10 Avenue SE in the Beltline.
At the heart of ABLE’s model is Human-Centred Design Thinking: a framework that begins with people, not products or profits. Students learn to listen, ask questions, understand needs, and look beyond themselves.
“In a world that often tells young people to focus on themselves, we teach them to focus on others,” Astrid said. “Because that’s where purpose is often found.”
Students still study strong academics. But they learn how those subjects connect to real life: how math, science, communication, creativity, and business can improve the lives of people around them.
The Change Nobody Expects
I asked Astrid what growth she most often sees in students. I expected her to talk about grades or critical thinking skills.
Her answer was immediate: confidence.
“The biggest change isn’t academic. I’ve watched students discover they are capable of far more than they believed. A quiet student speaks up. A hesitant student takes initiative. A student who was afraid to fail begins trying new things.”
The moment a young person realizes they have something valuable to contribute, she says, everything changes. They stop seeing themselves through the lens of grades or learning labels or challenges, and start seeing themselves through their strengths.
Who ABLE Is Built For
The families who reach out to ABLE, Astrid told me, remind her of herself as a mother.
“They aren’t looking for an easier education. They’re looking for a more meaningful one.”
Their children might be creative, entrepreneurial, highly capable but disengaged, or still figuring things out. What unites the parents is what keeps them up at night.
Will my child be happy? Will they find their purpose? Will they have good friends? Will they become confident and capable adults?
ABLE is designed for families who believe education should help young people become thoughtful, capable, caring adults, not simply successful students.
A Mother’s Measure of Success
As a mother herself, Astrid raised three children who are now adults. And when she reflects on what makes her proudest, it isn’t degrees or job titles.
“What makes me proudest is their character. They volunteer. They care about their neighbours. They contribute to their communities. They understand that success isn’t only measured by what you earn, but also by what you give.”
That’s the standard ABLE holds itself to.
Of course the school wants students to succeed academically. But the deeper goal is that they know who they are, discover their strengths, build meaningful relationships, and develop the confidence to try new things and the courage to care about others.
Because the most important question, it turns out, isn’t what you want to be.
It’s what kind of life you want to build.
To learn more about ABLE, visit ABLE-learning.com or find them on Instagram at @ablelearning_yyc.
ABLE is located at 409 10 Ave SE, Calgary, in the Beltline Innovation and Culture District.
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