Last week, Alive Center founder Kandice Henning returned to her alma mater, Naperville North High School, to deliver the keynote address at the school’s National Honor Society induction ceremony. Speaking to hundreds of students, families, and educators, Kandice shared a heartfelt and powerful message about what it means to live, and lead, with character.
The National Honor Society is built on four pillars: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Kandice focused her speech on the last, and perhaps most foundational of the four: character. “Character matters because it goes with you wherever you go,” she told the audience. “It shows up when you help others, when you take care of what’s been entrusted to you, and when you step up as a leader.”
With humor and humility, she admitted that even she turned to ChatGPT to ask, “What makes up good character?” The list she received, integrity, respect, courage, humility, and self-discipline, resonated deeply, especially when she added her personal favorite: authenticity.
Throughout her address, Kandice encouraged students to reflect on who they are and what they stand for, emphasizing that “character starts from the inside.” Drawing from her own experiences as a leader and founder, she spoke candidly about moments of personal growth, from learning to respond calmly in moments of anger to practicing accountability as both an individual and a leader.
At Alive, Kandice shared, accountability and integrity are more than values on paper, they are daily practices. “Our staff know I own my mistakes,” she said, “because it gives them permission to be human and to fail, too.”
Kandice also reminded students to balance ambition with intention. “Don’t try to do everything,” she advised. “Choose the things that truly matter to you, the things that make you come alive.”
Her closing words echoed a truth that resonates far beyond the high school auditorium:
“Your character is your superpower. Not your grades, not your résumé, not your follower count, your character. Be the one who shows up. Be the one whose actions match your words.”
For Kandice, character isn’t just a quality, it’s a lifelong compass that guides how we learn, lead, and live.
🎥 Watch Kandice’s full keynote speech below to be inspired by her wisdom and warmth.