After graduating from college, Mike Marriner travelled across America with two college friends in an old, green RV. Along the way, they interviewed leaders across a wide array of fields and occupations to learn how folks got to where they were. That first trip resulted in the book Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Road in Life and soon led to the founding of Road Trip Nation where Mike and team now provide that same experiential learning experience to other students. They’ve been regularly featured on PBS and across major media outlets over the past 20 years.
In a wide-ranging conversation, we touch on how the lowering of barriers to entry is making it easier than ever to chart new career paths like Mike’s. He reflects on recent work they’ve done to launch Roadtrip Nation’s first Online Course allowing their tools and insights to reach a broader audience who might not be able to take to the road. Mike recounts stories from recent trips with community college students, and students with learning disabilities, among others.
We conclude by getting Mike’s perspective on the years ahead where he has plans to amplify the stories of vulnerable populations on trips with groups like formerly incarcerated populations. Mike also touches on how he’s looking to scale the impact of Roadtrip Nation through tools like the online course and their library of over 8000 interviews.
It’s an inspiring and aspirational conversation and we thank Mike for kicking off our 2021 season of Trending in Education in style.
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