Roadtrip Nation visits campus

Piling three college students into a green RV and setting off on a cross-country road trip would definitely be an adventure. But what if it could also help you discover your life's passion?

That is the overall goal for the organization Roadtrip Nation, and the concept of the PBS series created from the students' journeys.

Roadtrip Nation invaded campus on Wednesday to encourage students to explore what's out there in the world.

"We aren't here to tell people what to do with their lives, that is the exact opposite of why we are here. We want to empower people to explore other paths, even ones outside of their comfort zone, just to see what's out there," Roadtrip Nation's National Events Director Jennifer Ho said.

The Green Rv's beginning

Roadtrip Nation began with three college graduates from Laguna Beach (Nathan Genhard, Brian McAllister and Mike Marriner) that weren't happy with their current paths in life. Though they had obtained degrees in business administration, biology and communications they did not want to conform to societies expectations of their jobs.

Instead, they set out on a three-month, cross-country road trip in a green RV, now known as "The Legend", (which currently sits inside Roadtrip Nations headquarters) to discover themselves and their passion, by interviewing others who had already found theirs.

In the process, these men discovered that many students were feeling the same way (unsure of what to major in or what job to pursue) and so began the Roadtrip Nation movement.

The organization came out with a book in 2003 entitled "Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life" as well as a documentary on the original road trip, "The Open Road" and has since grown in to a reality television series on PBS.

Former FC student roadtrip star

Antoine Sanchez of Whittier is a former FC student and is currently on season eight of the organizations "Green RV Roadtrip" series.

The organization spoke at a "Career & Life Planning" class that Sanchez was enrolled in a few years ago.

"They showed us an episode from their New Zeland season. I thought it was really awesome but I was also discouraged at first. They made it seem like thousands of students were applying, so why would they pick me? Luckily, one of the Roadtrippers pulled me aside after and talked to me and the rest is history."

Sanchez is an example for other FC students, that anyone can become a Roadtripper.

"We got to interview Joe Rogan (Fear Factor) in Los Angeles, a top chef in Las Vegas, Rick Moonen. As we moved east we got to meet one of the Vice President's of marketing for AT&T, that was pretty cool, said Sanchez. "I even got to meet my personal heroes, Alex Ross a graphic novelist in Chicago."

Coming as yourself

Every time a Roadtripper interviews someone new that person comes aboard the Green RV and leaves their mark, literally, by writing an inspirational quote along with their autograph on the inside of the RV walls, including the ceiling.

There are no exact molds Roadtrip Nation is trying to fill when looking for students to be on the show. They are just looking for those with a drive to see what the world has to offer.

"The biggest thing we consider when choosing a Roadtripper is their reason for why they want to go on the show. We aren't an MTV reality show. We're not picking people for the drama. We're looking for people who want to get outside of their comfort zone and who want to explore," said Chrystal Heintz, music supervisor for Roadtrip Nation.

Each season groups of three are chosen to hit the road for six weeks, where they will eat, sleep and live on the green RV. The group will be given the opportunity to interview up to 30 individuals who specialize in different fields. The Roadtrippers will plan the entire trip themselves, including where they want to go, who they want to interview and setting up those interviews themselves. Over the course of the trip the three Roadtrippers will share their personal story and thoughts to the people they meet and to the camera crew.