For students who don’t know what to do with the rest of
their lives, Mike Marriner and Nathan Gebhard of “Roadtrip
Nation” have an answer.
The two visited UCLA on Monday to mobilize students to explore
career options “off the beaten path.”
Their mission began when they decided to go on a roadtrip to
cope with the uncertainty of their future careers. They wanted to
interview as many people as possible to gain a better understanding
of how others chose careers.
The experience caused Marriner and Gebhard’s bank accounts
to dwindle but left them with a fountain of information they are
now sharing with students.
Marriner and Gebhard said the keys to success lie in being
curious about life and having the courage to follow one’s own
intuition.
Too many young people limit their career options to conform to
society’s expectations, they said.
“How many people are accountants, but don’t like
numbers?” Gebhard said.
During their roadtrips Marriner and Gebhard interviewed a
variety of people, such as the director of the variety show
Saturday Night Live, and said they found that when people choose to
pursue things that excite them they feel successful.
After spending most of the day talking to students on Bruin
Walk, Marriner and Gebhard headed over to the Anderson School for a
presentation that they MC’d.
The presentation began with clips from two documentaries ““
a compilation of the interviews they conducted while on the road
““ followed by a panel discussion.
The panelists, including the CEO of Paul Frank, were people
interviewed by Marriner and Gebhard.
The discussion allowed the audience to learn how others overcame
the fears and risks of doing something different.
“I’d rather be scared than numb, because whether you
succeed or fail, you have a great story to tell,” said Lisa
Shotland, of the talent agency California Arts Agency.
In addition to stories, panelists doled out advice.
“Students are given a lot of pressure to figure out what
they’re going to do rather quickly … when in reality you
can really benefit from taking some time to get perspective.”
said Dave Bartis of the production company, Hypnotic.
Some students walked out of the presentation saying they renewed
hopes of pursuing unconventional careers.
“I didn’t expect to find out that these people who
were incredibly successful didn’t know what they were going
to do at some point in their lives,” said Barbara Nguyen, a
first-year economics student.