Inspiration Junkies

Why is this next generation of workers so hungry for what seems like a very simple message? "Students think once you make a career decision, you're stuck in it for the rest of your life--or if you don't make a decision right away you'll fall behind, like it's a race," says Jordan Maness, a career counselor at UCLA. Arguably, students today deal with more pressure than any previous generation to make the right career choice. Raised by boomer parents, many have been hyperscheduled in extracurricular activities since they learned to speak. They leave college burdened both with loans to pay off and with the prevailing myth that upon graduation, they have just one chance to decide what they want their career to be. Many have witnessed the Porsche-littered midlife crises of their parents and want to be able to find meaning in their work. But actually doing so, that's the hard part.

"What blows my mind is, most people say they don't know what they're passionate about," says Marriner. He argues many actually do know what excites them but lack confidence to pursue that vision. Others are programmed to think their passions don't fit inside the boxes presented them in dusty college-career centers. That's why the RTN elders believe it's critical for students to use the trip as a vehicle to discover the hundreds of careers they never knew existed. You, too, could be a programmer for the Cartoon Network, or a designer for Burton Snowboards.

Annie Harleman, a 20-year-old Hamilton College sophomore, figured that out as one of 30 students catapulted on the road last summer with a $700 grant. The catalyst was a meeting with ESPN sports anchor Chris Berman. "He said, 'When you're in line at a gas station, what magazines do you pick up? What channels do you turn to on TV?' I started thinking, I always pick up National Geographic or go to the Discovery Channel," says Harleman, who had been interested in environmentalism but had strayed from the sciences because math wasn't her strong suit. "I learned that you shouldn't pursue something because you think it'll be easier." Back on campus, she rejiggered her course load with anthropology and environmental studies classes.

Now the movement is taking on a life of its own. Students such as Casey Roman, a 21-year-old grant recipient at Rhodes College in Memphis, have been so moved that they're starting up local RTN chapters. Emily Thurman, a student at Texas Tech, created a Roadtrip Nation network on Facebook.com, a hot social-networking site. At California State University, Al Striplen has built a five-week RTN program into the curriculum of his career-development course.

In 2003, Aimee LeFevers, project director for a nonprofit for 100 Pennsylvania schools in low-income areas, hounded RTN's founders to speak at a career-development conference. The students at her Brownsville high school were so inspired, they borrowed video equipment and interviewed leaders in their community. This past year, the kids struck a deal with a local PBS affiliate to air their footage. "After hearing Nathan explain that originally they didn't know what the hell they were doing, they were just trying to figure it out and chucked everything they had been taught, it gave these students confidence to say, 'If these guys could do it, we can too,' " says LeFevers.

Marriner and McAllister have just returned from five months on the road. Gebhard, who stayed behind to edit the fresh footage, is beginning to whittle 1,500 hours down to a mere 6 for next season's PBS series. They're still stoked by what they've heard. But they also realize that after four tireless years in the RV, they've finally found their passion and purpose. It's time to send RTN employees on the fall campus tour while they stay home to build the business.

And the business could be huge. Marketers call constantly, seeking access to RTN's coveted college audience. MTV has proposed a reality show where students get voted off the RV (seriously). Beer companies have offered sponsorships. Such deals might have ignited RTN's growth overnight. But they're not happening. "As much as this would be a quick fix to cash in, the second we compromise our honesty, our cause, we may as well close our doors," says Gebhard.

Instead, RTN aspires to get armies of students on the road and to extend internationally. "[Starbucks founder] Howard Schultz told us that success shouldn't be the target. Success is the by-product when you work toward the target," says Marriner, riffing on one of the many quotes he frequently drops from his network of mentors. His favorite is from Michael Jager, the founder of a design firm. "He said, 'When you really magnify what it is you believe in and follow it, the world conspires for you.' " For Roadtrip Nation, the conspiracy is just beginning.

Danielle Sacks (dsacks@fastcompany.com) is Fast Company's reporter/researcher. She was confused when she graduated from college, too. But she's figuring it out.