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10 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2026 S M T P E RS P ECT I V ES & P RO S P ECTS As parents and grandparents, we often wonder what we can give the next generation that will matter long after the gifts have been opened and the celebrations have passed. When a child leaves for college, this occasion naturally invites reflection. The older I become, the more I realize that the most meaningful things we can pass on are not possessions, accomplishments, or even answers. I want to offer encouragement, perhaps a few words of wisdom, and some lessons that life has taught me. These are perspectives, ways of thinking, choices to consider, and principles to carry through an ever-changing world. Recently, I wrote a personal note to my very first college-bound grandson with a few observations gathered not from textbooks but from decades of living, working, leading, succeeding, making mistakes, and watching and coping with the world as it changes. I intentionally tried to avoid the familiar clichés of advice and instead focus on things I have BY D R . J E N N I E S. H WA N G, H -T EC H N O LO G I ES G RO U P What I Hope the Next Generation Will Carry Forward come to believe are genuinely useful and real. As I reread that note, I thought it might resonate beyond our family, as many of us are experiencing similar situations as our children and grandchildren enter college, begin careers, or find their way in this complex world. The technologies, careers, and circumstances of life certainly will change, espe- cially with AI, but some principles remain remark- ably durable. So, I share these thoughts as one generation speaking to another. Perhaps it will prompt reflec- tion, some discussion around the dinner table, or simply a smile of recognition. After all, one of the privileges of getting older is having accumulated enough experience to know that we cannot choose the path for those who follow us. We can, however, offer a few signposts along the way. Here is my note to my first college-bound grandson, who seems to have grown to 6-foot-3 almost overnight. Bobby