“Strong ground is where stability meets momentum. It’s our source of wisdom and our launchpad for bold action.”
By Ines Kudo
“Mom, do you think I could ever go to Harvard?”
“Of course, hijita.”
I still remember that exchange as if it happened yesterday. It was the year 2000. I had just finished undergrad, and Harvard felt like a faraway planet. I didn’t know anyone who had gone there. I had only seen it on TV.
I asked this question like it was a crazy, unattainable dream. But daring to say it out loud and having someone I loved believe in me without hesitation, set me on a path that changed my life.
I went on to do my master’s at Harvard, built a career that surpassed my expectations, and I still recognize that moment as the first push.
Last week, I found myself going back to that conversation with my mom, as I watched the Pumas I guide (11 to 13-year-olds) price out careers and university paths.
Our studio is currently doing the Personal Finance Quest, a six week project on how money intersects with the life you want to build. They’re working on projecting earnings, tracking expenses, negotiating, and mapping a realistic “financial life at 25” spreadsheet.
They’re getting a look at adult decisions early, while they still have time to adjust course. This Quest asks them to face something critical for life: the relationship between what we want and what things cost.
The challenge was “The Cost of College”, and it was something like this: Do you want to pursue a university pathway, and do you need it to find your calling? If so, research the best option for your chosen field and the lowest cost option that could still prepare you well. Add up the full cost, not just tuition but also books, fees, and living expenses. If your path requires graduate study, include that too. Then compare the total cost to a starting salary and share your ratio publicly in the Studio.
I couldn't help noticing the stark contrast between the world our children are growing up in and the one I knew. In Lima in the 1990s, when people around me finished high school, if they were lucky, they got to choose from the top local options: “la PUCP”, “la Pacífico” or “la de Lima”; San Marcos or Cayetano; maybe UNI or “la Richi”. For us, studying abroad for undergrad was simply unimaginable.
For our children, “abroad” is an option, not a fantasy.
Their posts started coming in. Here are some of the numbers they shared after completing their research.
Harvard University, neuroscience, cost after 4 years: 360,000. Medical pathway after 5 years: 500,000. Total: 860,000.
University of the Arts London, debt after 4 years: 80,000.
Oxford in the UK without scholarship, debt after 4 years in soles: S/750,000. Starting salary: S/547,841.02 per year.
Berklee College of Music without scholarship, debt after 4 years: $289,586. Starting salary: $50,000 per year.
UAB Barcelona for microbiology, first year cost: 1,100 euros. Expected salary: 35,000 euros per year.
Politecnico di Milano in Italy, debt after 4 years: S/68,425. Scholarship: 0. Starting salary per month: S/9,676.10.
Oxford in the UK with scholarship, debt after 4 years: S/0. Starting salary: S/1,074,715 per year.
When I asked if they had considered options closer to home, their answers were thoughtful and specific. One said most programs here emphasize production, and she wants to grow as a performer. Another said she looked up the top three programs in the world and chose the best one. That’s where she wants to go.
Even reading these numbers on a screen can feel breathtaking, maybe even unrealistic. So it takes real curiosity to keep looking when the number is that big. It takes humility to understand this dream will ask a massive amount of effort. And it takes courage to admit you want it anyway.
That’s why I love watching their eyes sparkle with possibility, moving from “I won’t go, it’s too expensive” to “this is where I want to take my talent, world-class.”
I think again of my mom’s answer. She didn’t guarantee anything. She didn’t make it happen for me. She just planted the belief that I could, and I did the rest.
Curiosity gives a dream life. Confidence keeps it alive. Humility keeps it honest. Courage makes it real.
“You can be confident in your ability to achieve a goal in the future while maintaining the humility to question whether you have the right tools in the present. That’s the sweet spot of confidence.”
I see our Pumas doing that now. They’re saying it out loud, learning what it costs, and starting to build a path.
The beauty of this process is that they get to try on different versions of the future, year after year, alongside each other. The Puma who last year was set on marine biology is now leaning toward mechanical engineering. The one who loved her marketing apprenticeship is now passionate about neuroscience research. Next year, it may shift again.
That’s the point. They get the rare chance to think again, and again, without rushing to lock one answer for life. And they do it as part of a tribe that uplifts them and holds them accountable. With each round of research and real-world apprenticeships, including facing rejections and making rookie mistakes, they learn more about the world, their fields, and themselves.
Over time, that practice builds something solid underneath: strong values and a clearer sense of how they want to contribute.
So when they step into the real world, they have built a strong ground, and the confidence and humility to pivot when needed.
This feels like the beginning of something amazing.