All college students know the feeling — that squeaky little hamster wheel of doubt about life post-diploma. What if I can’t find a job? What if I can’t find a job I like? What if I can’t find a job that aligns with my values?
Ditch that hamster wheel and climb on two wheels that can take you places, Maya Donelson would tell you. A 2006 graduate of New York’s Syracuse University, Donelson knew she wanted to do something green in her life. But it took a random adventure — a cross-country cycling-trip fundraiser for Greenpeace — to help show her the winding path to a fulfilling career.
Maya Donelson Age: 24 School: Syracuse University ’06
The pedaling raised $1,654 (“not much, but still exciting,” she says) and ended in a visit to San Francisco, where Donelson realized she wanted to live. She moved there a number of months later and found an internship working on green, edible roofs. That led her to apply for and ultimately win a grant that helped her launch a dream program: growing organic food on the rooftop of one of San Francisco’s most progressive forces, Glide... Read more
