Written By: Ginger Ontiveros, President & Chief Executive Officer

The Human Advantage: Why the Little Things Matter More Than Ever

I recently had the opportunity to attend the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Educational Leadership Summit, where district superintendents and assistant superintendents from across the county gathered to discuss the future of education and the challenges facing today’s students.

In conversation after conversation, one message kept surfacing. Our education system must continue to evolve if we are going to meet the moment for today’s students.

I believe that conviction is genuine.

At the same time, after spending more than two decades working alongside educators, employers, and community leaders, I’ve learned that recognizing the need for change and changing our daily habits are two very different things. Systems change slowly because people change slowly.

One of the keynote speakers, Kim Bearden, co-founder of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, challenged educators to think about how they show up every day for students and families. Her message focused on relationships, intentionality, and creating school cultures where people feel seen, valued, and encouraged to grow.

As I reflected on her remarks, I was reminded of a recent social media post describing what the author called the “little human touches.” The idea was simple. In a world increasingly shaped by technology, it is often the small acts of professionalism and genuine human connection that make the biggest difference.

That observation has stayed with me because it applies to every one of us.

Today’s students are growing up in a world where artificial intelligence can draft emails, polish resumes, summarize information, and even help prepare for interviews. Technology is becoming remarkably good at helping people complete tasks.

But technology cannot build trust. People still do that.

Many young people have not been consistently trained to practice the habits that strengthen relationships and open doors. These behaviors are not developed through a reminder or a one-time lesson. They require modeling, clear instruction, repeated practice, accountability, and a deep understanding of why they matter. In many ways, this is basic training for life in a digital world.

Writing a thank you note. Sending a follow-up email. Arriving a few minutes early. Introducing themselves to someone new. Visiting a professor during office hours. Asking thoughtful questions. Reaching back out to a mentor.

These may seem like small actions, but they leave lasting impressions.

I know they do because I’ve experienced it myself.

Over the past year, I have interviewed dozens of candidates for positions within our own company. I can count on one hand the number who followed up afterward with a thank you note or email.

Did those thank you notes guarantee someone a job? Of course not.

But I can still remember the names of every candidate who sent one. I cannot honestly say the same about many of the others.

That simple gesture communicated gratitude, initiative, professionalism, and genuine interest. It made those candidates memorable.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers consistently rank communication, teamwork, professionalism, critical thinking, and career self-development among the competencies they seek in new college hires.

As I reflected on the summit, however, I realized this article really isn’t about students.

It’s about us.

The reality is that many of the habits we hope students will develop are the same ones adults struggle to practice consistently. We all get busy. We all forget to follow up. We all leave emails unanswered longer than we intended. We all miss opportunities to express gratitude or invest more intentionally in relationships.

Students become what they repeatedly observe.

Character is rarely taught through presentations. It is transmitted through observation. Students are always watching how the adults in their lives communicate, keep commitments, admit mistakes, express appreciation, and treat other people.

If we want students to value these little human touches, they need to see us living them first.

Parents and educators have an extraordinary opportunity to make those lessons visible every day.

Encourage students to write thank you notes.

Expect them to follow up after interviews, job shadows, and workplace experiences.

Teach them to arrive early, ask thoughtful questions, seek feedback, and follow through on commitments.

Just as importantly, let them watch us do the same. Consistently.

As technology becomes more capable, our humanity becomes more valuable. AI may help write the email. Only a person can choose to send it, express genuine gratitude, build trust, and strengthen a relationship. Those remain profoundly human choices.

This conviction is also what shaped Tomorrow’s Talent’s FISH program. Early on, we realized these professional habits are not developed through a single presentation or workshop. Like any meaningful skill, they require modeling, guided practice, coaching, accountability, and repetition. In FISH, Students, alongside their parents, don’t just learn about these behaviors; they practice them so they can become habits. In many ways, it’s basic training for life in a digital world.

Knowledge changes minds. Practice changes behavior.

As I drove home from the Educational Leadership Summit, I found myself reflecting on my own commitment to these practices. The summit was a timely reminder to keep doubling down on the same habits we hope students will carry into adulthood: follow through, gratitude, intentional communication, and showing up well for people.

I still left the summit with hope. Not because I expect systems to change overnight, but because I believe lasting change begins one habit, one relationship, and one example at a time.

Meaningful change almost never begins with systems.

It begins with people.

Perhaps the most important question any of us can ask is not, “Why aren’t students doing these things?”

Instead, it is, “How well am I modeling them?”

If enough parents, educators, employers, and community leaders ask themselves that question honestly, our students will notice.

And that may be the little human touch that changes everything.