>>When you're in high school, you're are expected to make a lot of huge decisions about your future - especially in Texas, where many students today are asked to choose a specialized area of study ssentially taking the first step towards their future career.

That s why this year, Roadtrip Nation brought together four groups of high school students from the El Paso, Austin, Dallas, and Houston areas.

together they explored their region of Texas, interviewing inspiring individuals, professionals, and students.

Because high school is a time to explore, create, take chances and above all, a time to grow.

[MUSIC] We're going on a road trip to try and figure out a little bit more about what we want to do.

>> I will be going in a big green RV wit two other people and the film crew with RoadTrip Nation.

>> We're gonna interview people that have careers in things that we might be interested in and talk to them about how they got there and how they figured out what they wanted to do.

I wanna ask, were you self- motivated?

Was there something else had drove you?

[MUSIC] >> The best thing that could happen would be that I go in and talk to one of the people that we're interviewing, I'm like, that, I wanna do that.

>> All the people we're gonna interview, they're great people, they're successful.

I want to know how they did that and if I can do that.

[MUSIC] First day, it was really exciting, cuz we were meeting for the first time.

So it was cool to just learn everybody's stories and get know each other.

>> [LAUGH] You're good.

Nice to meet you.

>> Nice to meet you.

>> Meeting Sam and Sophia was great because they were all so open, and outgoing.

>> We're getting along really well.

That was really nice.

>> It was pretty quickly that I realized that I can just be myself.

>> I'm not too experienced in road trips, so I'm pretty excited.

Especially with Sam and Saba.

It's gonna be a lot of fun, yeah.

[MUSIC] >> Need help?

>> It's okay.

[LAUGH] [MUSIC] >> They seem like a hoot, so.

[LAUGH] >> Cool.

>> Nice.

[LAUGH] [MUSIC] >> My name is Sophia.

I'm 16, I'm a junior at Carroll High School.

I've lived in the same house since I was two.l High School.

I've lived in the same house since I was two.

I know all my neighbors.

My best friend used to live two houses down and my other best friend lives five houses down.

So it's always been just walk down the street and you know everyone.

So I really like it here.

[MUSIC] My dad's from California, but his parents are from El Salvador.

Actually, he grew up there, and my mom is from New York.

She's a private investigator now.

Sometimes she'll take me with her and [LAUGH] we'll go and we'll follow people, that kinda stuff.

That's a lot of fun.

>> Who is it?

>> That's- >> Your grandparents.

Yeah.

>> I work at the retirement home in Keller.

I'm a waitress and so I love that.

I know something that I struggle with and that a lot of my friends struggle with is balancing things and knowing where to put all your weight.

School and then work, but then also I get time to spend with my friends, and at our home, I'm probably not doing homework, I'm probably doing something I wanna do, like painting.

[MUSIC] Pretty much as long as I can remember I've been painting, it's always just being something that's fun, and that's relaxing, and that makes sense.

I've never really seen it as a career path or as work or anything like that.

It's always just been something that I love to do.

Boon.

He saw his face, he got excited.

[MUSIC] I like to do a lot of things, and that's kind of the problem because I can't really narrow it down.

My interests have always been everywhere.

I know that there's stuff out there that I would like, but I don't really know.

[MUSIC] >> We're going in?

>> I've never been in a RV.

I've seen it in the movies, and I thought it was pretty cool, but I am a city girl so I like being around buildings and being in a house, but it's gonna be a new experience.

[MUSIC] I'm Saba, I'm 17 years old, I'm a senior at Fossil Ridge High School.

I was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Because of my dad's job, we were moving to New York and back to my home in Islamabad.

This brings back a lot of good memories.

Finally, when my brother was born in Coney Island, my parents were like, you know what, America's where we need to be.

Is that the Empire State Building?

>> Yeah.

>> My dad and I, we're very similar, we want things now.

My mom's like it's okay, wait for it, stay calm.

She helped me do yoga and everything like that.

My dad's always taught me how to be successful.

My mom's taught me how to be a good human being.

i've always had a business mindset.

My dad owns a truck company.

Sometimes he'll let me talk to the brokers, and you have to negotiate prices with them.

[LAUGH] They'll say like 550, and you're like, 600.

I realized, this works and I started watching a ton of Undercover Boss episodes.

Learning how CEOs find out little ticks of their company, and end up fixing them.

There's a whole world of positions in the business field, so I'm excited to dive into it.

[MUSIC] >> This is the nicest RV I've ever been in.

>> [LAUGH] This is the only RV I've ever been in.

>> I've been in an RV before, it hasn't been in a moving one.

[MUSIC] >> I'm really excited to talk to Sam because it sounds like he has a pretty set plan for his photography.

It's impressive that he's so well established when he's only what, 16 or 17?

>> My name is Sam Rice.

>> I'm a junior at iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy of Lewisville.

Grew up in Lewisville, Texas and have lived in the same house my whole life.

I've loved photography as long as I can remember, my dad gave me my first point and shoot camera, think I was about five years old and I've loved it since then.

I started picking up photography when I was a freshman in high school.

And then I got a flyer in the mail between my sophomore and junior year, just advertising the school.

It all focuses on opening up your own business.

So then, I'm either updating my website, editing photos, finding people to work with.

[MUSIC] Then after school, I'll usually go to work.

I work at Best Buy, I'm back in the computer and camera section.

[MUSIC] So balancing that along with school and friendships and relationships, and there's just a lot of stuff on my plate right now.

So I think that's the hardest thing, it's just trying to find time for everything.

[MUSIC] [LAUGH] We're in the studio right now.

I really like this space cuz we have access to all the lighting, all the camera.

We've got different color walls, we have green screen behind me and then some other interesting backgrounds.

These are some of my favorite pictures that I've taken on film.

It's very different compared to digital.

There's a lot more work involved.

I wouldn't say that I have a very specific style.

I'm trying to figure out what the look I'm going for right now is.

I think my biggest hope for this trip is to figure what's next, if I want to go to school.

If I wanna jump right out of high school and start in the field.

I don't really know what I wanna do yet.

[MUSIC] >> My mom's father, my grandfather, he served in World War II, and I know that, that was something that he valued a lot and that value has trickled down to me, and I think it's very important.

I like the discipline that it gives you.

I would like to, I think, do ROTC during college, maybe for Air Force, maybe for Coast Guard, not sure.

[MUSIC] All right, let's do it.

>> We're interviewing Steven DeWolf, and he's a wind engineer, but his hobby is being a pilot.

>> We both have an interest in aviation.

We talked about being in the Air Force serving.

>> Yeah.

>> I've never actually talked to a pilot.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

[LAUGH] And he's a lawyer too.

>> Mm-hm.

>> So he's got like a lot of different things.

>> Very busy man.

>> Yeah.

>> [LAUGH] >> I'm.

>> Hi.

>> Nice to meet you.

>> Hi.

>> Nice to meet you.

Come on in.

Let me move all this stuff.

>> Okay.

>> [LAUGH] At 17, did you plan this out to that you're going to go- >> No.

>> No?

>> No.

I had a lot of career changes.

Went to the Naval Academy for two years.

Got out, went to UT law school.

I was at three different big firms.

Along the way in 2002, I started the wind business.

And have done nine wind farms, about 5% of the wind energy in Texas and wrote a textbook on it, which if you ever need help sleeping, read it.

[MUSIC] Nice to meet you guys.

>> Yes, nice to meet you, sir.

>> So tell me a little bit about where you are in life.

>> So kind of where I am right now is I'm thinking I want to ROTC through college.

>> Right.

>> And do at least four years in the Airforce, probably air crew.

I'm not sure if I wanna fly yet.

If I do wanna fly- >> I'm gonna push you to be a pilot.

>> [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] >> I think it's a great leadership thing, I went to the Naval Academy for two years and it was two of the best years I ever had.

In terms of growth and stretching me and doing all that stuff.

So I'm a big, I like the Navy, but the Air force is fine, and obviously, I really like flying.

>> Doubt is a big thing.

I'm always doubting, what will I do, how will I get there, when will I end up there.

I want to ask you a little bit about not knowing what you wanna do.

Because that's something that I'm kind of struggling with, is I have kind of an idea, of the Air Force, an ROTC, and that kind of thing.

But I'm not sure what I'm going to major in, if I leave the Air force, what I wanna do.

So I wanted to ask you since you've had a lot of different career changes.

>> Yeah, yeah.

Until I was 35 at least I was, what do I wanna do when I grow up?

So I think the best thing is, do well in whatever you're doing.

>> So like, you're in high school, get the best grades you can.

Work hard, but as early as you can, recognize your personality.

And your personality is can evolve over time.

But it took me about 12 to 15 years to figure out I'm not really a big firm guy.

I'm not a guy that does well in big organizations.

So in 2001, I started my own firm, and then who would have guessed the wind thing?

I mean, that was kinda crazy.

And writing a book, I mean, it's just been very lucky.

I mean, kind of one door led to another.

But there gonna be twists and turns and, find something that you truly love.

Because I know a lot of lawyers that make money but hate their jobs and if money is important to you, I understand that that's part of the concept.

If helping people is something, if creating something is really important, like you Sam, I wanna be a pilot, then you need to do that.

[MUSIC] There are gonna be lots of paths to the top of the mountain.

Get a goal, kind of an idea, the goal can change, but kinda keep focused and keep your eye on the prize, if you will.

[MUSIC] Go hard or go home.

If you gonna do something, do it to the best of your ability as hard as you can.

>> Thank you so much.

>> No, thank you guys very much, it's really an honor to meet you guys.

I'm very, very lucky, I wake up everyday and think, man I get to do this stuff?

[MUSIC] I guess and idea that I had in my head was you become successful and then you never change jobs, you never, that's the point.

That's where you plateau and he showed me you can be successful and still be moving.

It's not a fixed point that you reach in your life, success is something that keeps on going.

Through out jobs, through out stages of your life, and like who you are too.

It's fluid, it's something that continues on, it's a state of being not necessarily a place you are at.

[MUSIC] My first two years of high school I was for sure I'm gonna be a doctor.

I took biology and chemistry.

I could not understand anything and it was just not for me.

So then, during my summer year, I studied more about business and I got an internship at a optical place, and I loved it.

Incorporating business and medical, I was like, this is something I could definitely do.

We went to see Maria Schneider in downtown Dallas.

>> It's awesome out here.

>> Pertty cool building.

>> I'm glad I brought more film.

>> Ready.

>> Yeah.

>> The buildingshe was in was amazing.

You look up, and you can barely get your neck back far enough becuase it's so tall.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] Maria has a son, he has cerebral palsy.

>> Our company patented the dino fit.

>> And now she's changing the lives of other mothers and families and kids.

>> All right, so who's the guinea pig?

>> I'll do it.

[MUSIC] So, just raise your hand like that.

>> See?

That's what uses that muscle.

>> That's awesome.

>> How did you know which college to pick?

Because, like, I felt the hard part was applying, and worrying about getting accepted.

The hard part is picking one college [MUSIC] You know, I totally agree.

And I went through that process as well.

In spite of the big selection process I did.

I went to the closest college to my parents house.

I ended up actually living at home through college.

My only extra curricular activity was dancing.

I'm a dancer.

Everything else was literally like studying and maybe having dinner with my parents [MUSIC] [MUSIC] I knew no-one when I got out of school.

You know.

And I could have done that better.

You have to look around, there's value to having a college experience and there's value to those people that you meet in the networking that you do.

and I thought it was cool how much emphasis you put on making connections and talking to other people.

She said that she did college wrong cuz she didn't go out and have fun and make connections.

and she just did academics, it's a lot more about the experience than just your degree.

And she was telling you when you were walking down to the RV, you were like.

do you ave to have like a high school diploma before you apply for something?

She said, start [CROSSTALK] it yourslef!

>>Yeah.

Start your own business.

>> Yeah.

>> Make something that you want to be a part of.

[MUSIC] Got some time, you know, in college, busy, but you've got some time to look around to start a business right?

To enter photo competitions and try to get your name known.

To do those things that are leading you towards your goal.

I don't know how much wisdom is embodied in this, it just says be bold.

>> Thank you so much.

>> I think you're gonna be running the world.

This is very exciting.

Fighting.

>> If I don't know exactly where I want to, I go talk to people.

Now that's what I do.

I go talk to people.

And that's like what you're doing, which I think is so amazing.

And things pop up, opportunities pop up.

But it doesn't happen sitting in your office in the physics buidling studying.

>> We hear that people work in IT all the time.

But we don't really know what that means.

>> Do you think IT as sitting behind a computer all day and just coding away.

ok, yeah, yeah [LAUGH] >> So you said you'd struggle your own company.

What made you want to do that?

What influenced that decision?

>> I think the way to advance You're gonna have to take risks.

I remember having a conversation with my mother saying, you know what, I was leaving IBM to start my own company and she's, why are you doing that?

You know, but ultimately it's a risk that I have to take.

[MUSIC] >> And then we went bowling.

That was so much fun.

>> It's the first time I've been bowling in a long time.

I missed a lot.

>> My gosh.

[MUSIC] >> I really wanna move up to New York.

The dream would be go up there and work for brands like Vogue, Supreme.

And I really have to figure out how I'm gonna do that.

>> Now, we're interviewing Kelly Williams.

She is a fashion and headshot photographer.

I'm really excited to talk to her cuz this is literally the career that I wanna do.

And it's such a competitive career.

I really wanna see how she made herself known and how she stands out from the rest of the people.

>> I grew up in a really small rural town in Ohio.

There wasn't a whole lot to shoot where I was.

It was cornfields and a covered bridge and- >> Not much you can do with it.

>> Yeah, I mean, once you've shot it 10, 15,000 times.

[MUSIC] After high school I went to the Ohio Institute of Photography, I got a job to work for a portrait studio and that lasted two weeks.

I definitely figured out real quick that I wasn't happy shooting portraits.

My roommate at the time was a model, I overheard her saying she needed some help in the office, so I was like, I'll help.

It really got my foot in the door as I started shooting models.

This is Beyonce's fan, I call it.

>> It's not everyday that you get to go to someone's studio and see them taking pictures and get to see all the crew that they use and stuff.

>> If you want to go into fashion, you need to immerse yourself in fashion.

You need to start now in networking.

While you're in college, you need to look up and see where the fashion shows are.

Shake hands, say hi, volunteer to help, you'll meet other creators and that will open up a world of opportunities for you.

>> At 17, what is one piece of advice you wished you knew?

>> I wished I knew I could asked and wouldn't be turned down, what others show was they're so scared as 17 to ask for help.

I wish I wasn't afraid of the answer, no, at you guys' age.

The goal is to get as many no's as you can get, cuz you're gonna get a yes eventually and it's gonna be a great yes.

Just put yourself out there and don't be scared.

Get as many no's as you can, and eventually you will get a yes.

[MUSIC] I learned a lot.

I think the biggest thing that I learned from was networking is everything.

From fashion shows, sign-up for mailing list, go on Facebook, and that kind of gave me the motivation that I can do this, even though I'm 17, I can still get my name out there.

She just showed me that it's achievable.

>> I'm excited to talk to the college students because they're kind of in-between the professionals that we'll talk to and us.

So they're kind of the midground.

>> We're about to interview Deandra.

>> Yes, kind of different from what we've done so far cuz it's not someone that's been established in a career for a long time, it's someone that's getting started on a path of their own.

It's not what we're you doing when you were our age but we're you doing two years ago.

>> My name's Deandra Jones.

I'm a senior at UTA studying kinesiology, or exercise science.

I cam here originally wanting to do physical therapy, like I've always said I wanted to be a physical therapist.

And I think my second semester I was like yeah, no, that's not going to work >> [LAUGH] >> And last semester I took an Intro to Public Health course, and I fell in love cuz I was like, wow, it's broad but I can do a lot of specific things with it.

So Lord willing I wanna go get my masters in Public Health and change the world.

>> It's okay to change your major.

>> Yeah.

>> And it's okay to realize that maybe something you thought you wanted to do forever isn't the right choice.

>> And that's kinda what college is for.

>> Yeah.

>> I'm learning.

>> Figure out what you did.

>> It's okay wanting one thing when you go in there, it's probably gonna be completely different when you graduate.

And that's kind of a scary thought but it's something that we kinda have to accept.

>> When I changed my major, that was really hard for me because I was like, my God, this is so final, like I'm not going to be a physical therapist.

But, I will just say, don't get attached on one thing, keep your mind open so you can do something different.

>> After you.

>> [LAUGH] >> Wow, this is so nice.

>> She switched and it wasn't a disaster, like your life didn't end.

You didn't have to leave school, that was very comforting.

>> I wrote, trust the process and accept things as they come.

Heart - Dee >> It definitely feels like I've learned so many things that are clickable not only to my college life, but to life in general.

I'm not so much worried about which major I'm gonna do, which classes, because now I've learned college isn't just about getting your degree.

It's about the people you meet.

I've always had to know what to do and always been one step ahead of everybody else.

Now I have to learn to take it slow and not necessarily have a plan.

Sometimes just go with it.

My quote was, someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a seed a long time ago.

>> What's next?

Let's see, honestly I think networking.

Kelly really motivated me to just put myself out there.

Cuz I know that I wanted to put myself out there I just didn't really know how.

So I think tomorrow when I go out and find some different fashion companies that are having some different shows.

And just put myself out there, meet as many people as I can.

Hand out as many business cards as possible.

It's exciting.

I'm ready for that.

I wrote unapologetically live your life.

>> I like that.

[LAUGH] That's pretty cool.

On Monday I go back to school.

But, over the next few years I wanna go to college.

I wanna do ROTC.

I want the structure at least for a little bit.

And then after that, I don't know.

I'll probably end up pulling a Kelly Williams and just go where my heart desires.

For mine I said, a lot of the time we don't view our accomplishments as accomplishments, it's okay to be proud of yourself.

Goodbye now, cuz I am actually leaving >> Goodbye >> Nice meeting you.

>> Yeah.

It was so nice.

I had such a good time.

[MUSIC] >>To learn more about how to get involved, or to watch interviews from the road visit roadtripnation.com