For the Road Trip Nation crew, the path to a career has been a long one that has covered the entire country. This Thursday, their trademark green RV will roll onto campus to help undecided students find the career that's right for them.
The crew will set up shop next to The Commons at about 10 a.m.
Road Trip Nation is featured as a documentary series each fall on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) channel. Last year, the three crews traveled an average of 5,500 miles, according to the Road Trip Nation Web site.
Road Trip Nation started in 2001 with a group of college graduates that didn't know what they wanted to do with their degrees. To discover their own passions, the crews have been interviewing successful people from all walks of life - from a lobsterman to a former White House adviser to the Clinton administration - throughout their journeys.
"They get to go and find whoever they want and are encouraged to talk to people that interest them," said Christina Mitchell, communications director for Road Trip Nation.
Through the PBS show and campus tours, the crew shares what they have learned during their road trip with other students.
"The goal with all of this is to kind of help kids figure out where they want to go with their lives, and to inform them that they can do many things to figure it out, and it's not as big and scary as they think it is," Mitchell said.
Amy Ditkowsky, a sophomore interdisciplinary social science major, thinks the green RV's crew will let UB students know that it's okay to take longer than four years to find the right career path.
"I think that it's a good idea because there is a lot of pressure in college to choose your major and graduate in four years," Ditkowsky said.
According to Mitchell, Road Trip Nation offers students the chance to either go out on their own road trips or to go on organized group road trips. Through grants, the organization helps with funding individual and group trips, and also loans filming equipment if necessary.
"We kind of provide the tools and they go out and do it," Mitchell said.
Screenings of the PBS documentary will be shown on Monday at 5 p.m. and Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in 259 Capen Hall.
