On Thursday, students that traveled the country as part of Road Trip Nation came to UB to share their experiences and give advice, telling students that they don't have to choose a career path - they can make their own.
In fact, Jenn Rauch, a Road Trip Nation crew member, found that it's scarier to follow a set career path to achieve your dreams than it is to follow your own, because many students wonder how exactly to go about getting where they want to be.
"It's more uncertain than following a set path, but the benefits are higher," Rauch said.
The purpose of Road Trip Nation is to share the interviews the crew collects on their journeys, in which people already working their dream job give insight into how they got where they are, according to Rauch.
"It's [about] wanting people to find their passions and not stop short in finding them. [It's] meeting people who inspire you and encourage you to define your own road," Rauch said.
The crew encouraged students to get involved by applying for an indie road trip. The indie trip would consist of an individual group of friends traveling in their own car across the country, with the help of funds that Road Trip Nation can help them secure. Road Trip Nation provides training and sponsorships for the independent groups.
The prospect of a month-long road trip across the nation sparked the interest of several UB students that stopped by the crew's big green RV.
"It sounds like the avenue I want to take in life to find out what would best fulfill my purpose," said Alex Levine, an undecided freshman.
Matt Allison, a freshman English major, has watched Road Trip Nation's show on PBS and would also like to get involved.
"I'm very interested in doing it one day...it would be an adventure," Allison said. "I've watched the show and loved it and thought it was a great idea. They had a lot of meaningful things to say to people they met."
Through Road Trip Nation, over 400 interviews have been conducted with a variety of people, including the founders of Starbucks and Dell, and the last man to see Martin Luther King Jr. alive before he was assassinated. Videos of these interviews were shown at the event.
"I think it's really cool what they're doing. I watched the movies and some people don't get the opportunity to travel like that," said Bridgette Kendricks, a freshman biomedical science major.
For the crew, the people they met along the way was the best part of traveling across the country on an 8,000-mile route.
"Just meeting people is the coolest part. It opens you up to experiences and shows you how diverse life is," said Olin Patterson, a crewmember.
The Road Trip Nation experience gave Patterson time to find the right career path for him, and accomplish things at the same time.
"I was able to graduate, travel a bit, work a bit, and take time off to discover my passions," Patterson said.
This year, Road Trip Nation will send about 50 teams on the road, including an international trip to New Zealand.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
