Or is the road calling? Either way, find an interesting call to action at Roadtrip Nation, where three crazy guys give away money for college students hitting the road in search of adventure and even immortality (or blog fame, anyway).
More Student Travel Quick Tips
How?
You and a few friends can apply for a grant to hit the road and interview people, essentially. Each applicant must be a current, fulltime undergrad from qualifying schools who's available summers for a road trip slash journalistic endeavor. Must be ready for prime time, as filming is an integral part of the process. Interview who? And why?Whomever floats your brain's boat. Interviewees chosen by past road trippers range from a Saturday Night Live director to a former Sierra Club prexy.
Why?
The point of the interviews -- and your mission, should you choose to accept -- is to understand, through interviews and conversations with successful folk, how paths to success vary and begin to understand your own aspirations as you go. The clearcut journey from getting a degree in Mom's old Subaru into the suburbs in your own Volvo clouds when one is in an acid green motor home, rig of choice for Roadtrip Nation's founders' own inaugural trip back in 2001 (those are the guys now doling out the cash).Free money isn't really the point here, to be honest, and it's not why Roadtrip Nation encourages you to hit the asphalt. But it gets attention, and it gets students thinking about the path that could lead to that dream-fulfilling career / life. Can you find it on a road trip?
What else?
You don't have to travel in a Roadtrip Nation rig to get the adventure that Roadtrip Nation hopes you'll find, and get some dough for doing it. In the spirit of pure road tripping, Roadtrip Nation sponsors grants for those traveling in their own cars, vans, hippie buses or parents' motorhomes. Many options exist -- in 2007, Roadtrip Nation was hooking up an indie road trip team with backstage passes to The Fray's US summer tour (winners interviewed folks in the field of music like bands, producers and agents -- those guys behind the curtain, too, like roadies); in 2008, Roadtrip Nation has partnered with Tourism New Zealand to tour that country's beautiful blacktop.Application deadlines for Roadtrip Nation trips are generally in the spring. This is still a relatively new venture, and new opportunities from Roadtrip Nation keep popping up... keep an eye on the Roadtrip Nation site. Learn more about the application and grant process for independent trips:
