Confidence. Communication. Community.
These skills grow through everyday connection. ESTE gives families insight and tools to understand how each person naturally thinks, feels, and learns. With tailored guides for parents, middle schoolers, and high school students, you’ll be able to support your child’s unique strengths and help them build self advocacy skills, embrace hobbies, nurture relationships that will carry them far beyond the walls of your home.
Build the Skills at Home That Lead to
Lifelong Success
Take the Next Step, with ESTE
ESTE® Self-Assessment & Professional Affirmation Roadmap
Discover how your natural strengths shape the way you solve problems, connect with others, and show up—for your family, your career, and yourself. This personalized, science-backed roadmap gives you more than insight. It gives you language, direction, and confidence to grow with purpose at home and at work.
Best for: Parents and Professionals seeking clarity, balance, and meaningful direction
Includes:
ESTE Self-Assessment (10–15 minutes)
Personalized 10+ page Professional Affirmation Roadmap
Your ESTE Avatar
Your Creative Thinking Mode (how you approach challenges)
Your Creative Feeling Mode (how you communicate and build relationships)
Growth prompts to support reflection, confidence, and impact
This guide is a starting point for deeper conversations, aligned decisions, and stronger connections—with your child, your goals, and your future.
ESTE® Self-Assessment &
Youth Affirmation Roadmap
Kids this age are full of potential and often unsure how to describe it. The Youth Affirmation Roadmap helps students discover how they think, connect, and why their perspective matters. Through the ESTE Self-Assessment and personalized report, kids build the confidence to explore their interests, stick with their passions, and recognize that their way of thinking is a strength, not something to outgrow.
Best for: Kids in grades 4–8 developing identity, confidence, and self-awareness
Includes:
ESTE Self-Assessment (15–20 minutes)
Personalized 2-page Youth Affirmation Roadmap
Your child’s ESTE Avatar
Their Creative Thinking Mode (how they approach challenges)
Their Creative Feeling Mode (how they express and connect)
Friendly, relatable language and examples
Encouraging prompts for reflection and growth
This report supports conversations at home and in school by giving kids new language to describe who they are and what they love. Parents and caregivers will see their child’s emerging strengths more clearly, and kids will walk away with a deeper sense of pride and direction.
ESTE® Self-Assessment &
High School Pathfinder
Help your teen build confidence in who they are and where they’re headed. The ESTE Pathfinder is a personalized, science-backed report designed to guide high school students as they explore careers, develop self-awareness, and make meaningful plans for their future. This is a reflection of how they think, what motivates them, and resources to support their growth.
Best for: High school students preparing for college, trade, or career decisions
Includes:
ESTE Self-Assessment (10–15 minutes)
Personalized 18-page ESTE Pathfinder Report
Your teen’s ESTE Avatar
Insights into their Creative Thinking Mode and Creative Feeling Mode
Career paths aligned with their unique strengths and motivators
Guided exercises for planning, reflection, and action
Resources for networking, training, and financial planning
Give your high schooler the language to talk about their strengths, the tools to make informed decisions, and the confidence to shape a future that fits.
What Parents Are Saying About ESTE
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![A portrait of Executive Coach Katherine Simmons, BS, Observant Entrepreneur, smiling with shoulder-length gray hair wearing a blue collared shirt and a black blazer in an office environment.]()
After understanding that my son is a natural Entrepreneur, I can now connect with him in ways that are more interesting for him and be in the “look out” for opportunities as he grows.
Paty- Mom of a 10 year old boy
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![Headshot of parent and author, Ilse Davison, smiling with short, curly dark hair, smiling with teeth showing, against a dark gray background.]()
Testimonial Here.
Ilse Davison, Mom of XXXXX
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![Alex Ross, Dad of two kids who use their ESTE Avatars to work together]()
As a parent, I forget that my kids can be totally different than me. Knowing each of our ESTE Avatars helps me to remember that things that may be easy for one person, may be challenging for others.
Alex - Dad of 10 and 13 year olds
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![Caitlin Johnson, a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair smiling, wearing a navy blazer and a gray top, leaning against a brick wall outside]()
My husband and I just took our 2 girls on a campus tour, and it was FASCINATING to see them ‘pick' different majors that they were innately drawn to from taking the ESTE Assessment! Can't wait for continued convos with ESTE!
Caitlin, Mom of two college-bound girls
What is ESTE?
ESTE is a psychometric self-assessment that takes about 15 minutes and reveals your unique ESTE Avatar. Your Avatar is a combination of one of four Creative Thinking Modes—Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, or Engineering—and one of twenty Creative Feeling Modes, which describe how you relate to the world around you. There are 80 possible Avatars, each offering a personalized insight into how you think, communicate, and build relationships.
The purpose of ESTE is to equip individuals with tools for career preparedness and long-term satisfaction. By understanding their own interests, values, and innate problem-solving style, users develop clarity about who they are and how they contribute. These insights help young people build confidence in their strengths and stay committed to their goals—even in the face of peer pressure, gender bias, or uncertainty about the future.
For families, ESTE provides a shared language of growth. Parents often discover new ways to describe and appreciate the strengths they’ve carried for years without realizing their full value. Children begin to see their curiosity, creativity, or structure as meaningful assets in both personal and professional life.
With this foundation, families strengthen communication, build mutual respect, and grow together. Everyone becomes better equipped to make informed decisions, form supportive relationships, and pursue careers that align with their strengths and aspirations.
“91% of students with high self-awareness and confidence report feeling prepared for the future.”
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The way you think, solve problems, and connect with others is a real strength. ESTE helps you describe those abilities in ways that apply to both school and career. This language is useful for children developing confidence and for adults re-evaluating what they bring to their work and relationships.
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Your Avatar reflects how you think and how you connect. It is based on a combination of your Creative Thinking Mode and your Creative Feeling Mode. This profile may shift as your experiences grow, helping you understand yourself in new ways throughout life.
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Creative Thinking Modes show up in everyday choices, decisions, and conversations. Some people focus on vision and possibilities, others on logic, systems, or discovery. These patterns exist across all settings and become easier to recognize with practice.
[Link to ESTE Modes section] -
Skills and strengths are not fixed. They develop through reflection, effort, and experience. ESTE supports this growth by giving people of all ages tools to notice their progress and build confidence over time.
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Self-doubt often starts when people are unsure how to describe what they do well. ESTE provides clear language and examples that help both students and professionals recognize their abilities. This clarity makes it easier to speak up, stay motivated, and pursue meaningful goals.
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When someone feels pressure to represent a group or prove themselves, it can affect how they perform. ESTE creates a strong foundation of self-awareness that helps users stay focused on their strengths. Knowing how you work best brings a sense of control and calm in moments that might otherwise feel uncertain.
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Taking ESTE as a family opens up conversations that may not happen otherwise. Parents and children begin to understand each other’s differences as strengths. This shared understanding makes everyday interactions smoother and strengthens the connection between family members.
What Makes ESTE Different?
Backed by Research
Grounded in proven models like RIASEC and OCEAN—tailored for real-world career insight.
Bias-Aware by Design
Crafted to reduce bias and honor your real-life context.
More Than a Type
Understand your creative strengths and emotional lens—your ESTE Avatar reflects both.
Built to Evolve
Captures who you are today—and grows with you over time.
Built by Experts
Created by educators, developers, and lifelong learners who believe in your potential.
The ESTE Paradigm
ESTE promotes growth by supporting self-awareness, relationship-building, and community strength.
“Children with parents who regularly reflect on their own strengths and struggles are 2x more likely to develop high self-esteem.”
“Teens who feel understood by their parents are 20% more likely to ask for help when stressed.”
“Students who can articulate their strengths and interests are 75% more likely to persist in STEM through college.”
“Families that model mentorship and community engagement foster a 43% increase in civic participation by age 25.”
A Starting Point for Growth, Confidence, and Career Exploration
Career exploration begins with understanding how we think, what we enjoy, and how we connect with others. ESTE supports families by helping each person recognize their unique strengths, interests, and values. This insight creates a foundation for confident decisions, meaningful conversations, and continued growth.
Here are some of the ways ESTE encourages development at every stage:
Personal preferences are part of exploring career-fit. Identifying how you think and what you enjoy helps guide future learning and planning.
Everyday activities can reflect meaningful skills. Drawing, building, organizing, and storytelling all demonstrate valuable ways of thinking and creating.
Confidence grows through self-reflection and communication. When individuals have words to describe their strengths, they are more likely to use them intentionally.
Beginning career exploration with self-awareness supports curiosity, motivation, and adaptability. The process becomes a chance to learn and grow.
Adults continue to explore their strengths alongside their children. Recognizing your thinking style supports personal development, decision-making, and leadership at home and work.
Families benefit from a shared language to describe what makes each person unique. This understanding strengthens connection and encourages mutual support.
Career Exploration That Feels Personal
Career preparation starts long before a job application. It begins with curiosity, conversations, and the ability to recognize what makes each person unique. ESTE helps families build a strong foundation so that students and parents feel equipped to make meaningful choices with clarity and confidence.
Here are some of the reasons career planning can feel uncertain:
Many students struggle to explain what they enjoy or what they are good at. Clear language helps them explore options that match their natural strengths.
Without a starting point, career planning can feel disconnected from real life. Kids benefit from connecting their interests and thinking style to everyday possibilities.
Parents often want to help but may not know how to guide the conversation. Understanding how you and your child think opens the door to supportive planning.
Career paths are changing quickly. Families grow stronger when they build adaptable skills and explore options together.
Confidence in career exploration comes from knowing your value. When students see where they fit, they are more likely to follow through on their goals.
Every career journey is personal. Having a roadmap that reflects how someone solves problems and builds relationships can guide decisions with greater purpose.
“Youth with self-advocacy coaching show a 32% increase in academic resilience and problem-solving.”
“Adolescents with at least one trusted adult outside the home are more than twice as likely to report a strong sense of purpose.”
“Open family conversations about strengths and personality increase empathy and trust by 40%.”
Everyone Thinks Differently, And That’s a Good Thing
There are many ways to see a problem, and each perspective brings something valuable to the table. ESTE helps you recognize your thinking style so you can better understand how you communicate, make decisions, and contribute to the world around you. When families learn to identify these differences, they build stronger relationships based on respect, clarity, and shared purpose.
Your ESTE Avatar highlights your natural approach to problem-solving and collaboration. Whether you're an Entrepreneur, Scientist, Technologist, or Engineer, your thinking style is already at work in how you plan your day, support others, and tackle challenges. The more you understand it, the more confident you’ll be in using it—and the more impact you’ll have at home, in school, and in your career.
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Entrepreneur: The Dreamer
Entrepreneurs are idea-makers who see opportunity where others see uncertainty. They enjoy imagining what could be and are often the ones to start bold new projects. In classrooms, they bring energy and bold thinking; in the workplace, they are the vision-setters who lead new initiatives and rally others around possibility.
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Scientist: The Investigator
Scientists are curious minds who love to ask questions and dig deep for answers. They enjoy exploring ideas, testing theories, and discovering how things really work. In teams, they offer thoughtful insight and steady analysis; in professional settings, they thrive in research, strategy, and roles where knowledge and accuracy matter.
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Technologist: The Inventor
Technologists love figuring out how systems work and how they can be improved. They are natural organizers and thinkers who notice patterns and bring structure to complex problems. In classrooms, they build frameworks for group success; in their careers, they design efficient systems, refine processes, and bring order to chaos.
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Engineer: The Builder
Engineers enjoy solving real problems in clear, step-by-step ways. They think carefully, plan ahead, and work well with others to make things that last. In school, they help others stay grounded and on task; in the workplace, they thrive in project management, operations, and roles that turn ideas into tangible results.