Living Radically Ambitious

You meet some really cool people through social media - whether blogging, leaving comments, on social networks or on Twitter. Looking into people’s 160 character bio leaves you with some clues as to what a person does and how they live their life. One such person is Paria Rajai, someone I met through Twitter when she shot me this DM

That was pretty motivating!

After reading her comment I really wanted to learn more as that 140 character message is exactly the kind of results I am seeing everyday and the kind of results I am hoping to help some of you achieve. Being that she went the nonprofit route was even more equally exciting. What ensued next was a round of email exchanges that taught me some of Paria’s background and some insight as to why she was leaving a career that could have been great down the road and led to some opportunities to advance up the ladder and move into a nonpaying, no-glitz and glamor position in Kenya. Here are some excerpts from our chat.

(Note - Some of the exchange was edited for content, but none of the original intent or meaning was lost)

I graduated from UCLA in 2007 with an International Development Studies major. I graduated early and began working at Yahoo! as a financial analyst by June 2007. I was part of their Finance Program, which is a rotational program in which undergrads rotate into various finance roles. By the end of two years, Yahoo! Finance program participants are supposed to indicate where they would like to be permanently. It was April and I was approaching two years.

I was really in a tough situation because I knew I did not want ANY position! Yet, it is really hard to quit during these economic times. I would come to work, open the Yahoo! frontpage, and see a new headline indicating how thousands have lost their jobs. At that point, how can you not be appreciative that you have a job?! So, I decided to take a volunteer trip to Costa Rica for three weeks with the vacation time I had accrued. If I felt like I really enjoyed it, then my plan was to quit in September and pursue my dreams, even if the idea completely frightened me.

Two days before I was leaving for Costa Rica, my manager called me in to tell me I was being laid off. It was such a surreal experience! 23, laid off, and now what? I was supposed to leave them, it wasn’t supposed to leave me! It was an interesting twist of fate and I feel like it was the universe kicking me in the butt and telling me to get started already! (I hate to say it, but as soon as I was laid off and went into my car, I felt like I had woken up from a bad dream. I felt like now I can ACTUALLY live my life. I almost feel like I was given a second chance to design my future.)

Having done A LOT of research in the past year on international development I knew exactly the kind of opportunity I was looking for. Luckily, a friend connected me to Jason and Jenni Doherty, the founders of Carr Educational Foundation. The foundation had just launched the Daraja Academy, the first free all girls secondary school in East Africa.

When I met them, I instantly knew this was my place. They are extremely charismatic, modest, and genuine people who really want to help the world.

After receiving this email I wanted to dig even further to see Paria’s dreams and passions as well as long term aspirations. This was our conversation:

Greg: When you graduated college, what was your perception of nonprofits/helping the world/etc.?

Paria: I graduated college a quarter early but I stayed at UCLA and just worked at PF Chang’s as a hostess until June, when my offer with Yahoo! began. During the quarter that I wasn’t in school, I was reading a couple books a week. I went through a few weeks where I was reading a lot of Bret Easton Ellis books, which focuses on the indifference and loneliness that occurs through the hedonistic lifestyles people lead. Many of the issues result in self-pity or other narcissistic problems. Then, I some how, I still don’t know how, I got my hands on the book “What is the What” by Dave Eggers, which chronicles the life of Sudanese refugee from his life in tumultuous Sudan to his transition into the US culture. I would say the complete contrasting books- LA lifestyle versus today’s realities in Sudan- really made an impression on me. It made me realize how minute and self-involved our problems can be when compared to the international world. In modern day America, the focus is on generating money so you could buy the newest dress, drive the most modern car or eat at the most suave restaurants. Then, we work hard to get higher paying salaries so we could continue the cycle of consumerism. What does that mean in the end? It means we live our lives helping the rich get richer while there are people in the otherside of the world watching their mothers get raped or fathers killed. I figured, I was so lucky to be born in the country and in the family I am in. How did I get so lucky? Now that I am in this position, what am I going to do with it? I changed so much that quarter. I learned a lot. But, I had a an amazing offer from Yahoo! and this self-discovery was a little too late. I figured it was a phase but from the first day I stepped into the corporate world, I knew I was completely out of my element. It was just so difficult for me to care about getting consumers to click on ads or to “network” with executives so I could get my name out there. My priorities had changed more than I realized.

Greg: What do you do for Daraja Academy on a day-to-day basis?

Paria: Just like any startup, workers don’t have one role, they have every role. I just try to help where I can. The founders, Jason and Jenni Doherty, spend most months out of the year running the school in Kenya with the fellow Kenyan teachers. I started helping them out in June when I returned from Costa Rica. Since then, my job has been everything from talking to company executives to install electricity through solar panels at the school to putting together creative fundraising kits for high-end donors. A lot of the focus right now is on improving the processes and learning how to manage the organizationas it gets bigger. It has been exciting and I have learned so much in the past few months, it is incredible. The best part is the people I get to be surrounded by– a lot of like-minded people that I totally connect with.

Greg: Is the position paid? If so, does it support your lifestyle? If not, how do you plan to support yourself?

Paria: The position is currently not paid. I am supporting myself through money I saved in the past two years and a generous severance package. It also helps a lot that I still live at home so I don’t have to pay rent. Although I would love to move out, living it at home allows me a lot of flexibility. However, I promised my mom that I would move out of the house once I return from Kenya. My goal is to fundraise my salary because if I get another job, I won’t be able to help as much I am now. My advice for anyone looking for a job in this area, volunteer (and bartend on the side if you have to!) so that the organization gets to know your personality and work ethic. Then, when there is an opening, they will be much more inclined to hire you because they appreciate your help. It’s far more efficient then just sending in a stellar resume because companies are getting plenty of those right now.

Greg: What are your goals long term?

Paria: Working with the foundation and living at the school, I will get a chance to understand the Kenyan people in a close way. Ultimately, I hope to help the foundation open numerous schools throughout the world and, as a result, really learn not only about business but about the various people- their dreams, their hardships, their needs. I almost look at this as field work. At the same time, I am the most surprised to discover how much I am learning about starting your own business.

My ultimate goal, however, is to understand the needs of the international community at a macro level. So in the long term, I can see myself going to school to get a Masters in Public Policy then working with the government to fight for some serious and sustainable changes. The bottomline is that the greatest difference you can make is through policy and legislation. At Daraja, our goal is to educate the young girls so they can be community and country leaders, so they can be the ones to fight for a change in legislation in their own countries. The only ones who can help places like Africa are the people themselves. Daraja has been created to equip the young girls with the tools to do just that.

Greg: What is life about to you?

Paria: I remember senior year of college I bought a CD by Bloc Party, a British band that writes arguably some of the best lyrics about the modern generation. When I first listened to their album, “A Weekend in the City,” I instantly felt connected to their lyrics about the loneliness of living in a large city. The funny thing is I never realized I was lonely. The album points out the distractions we create for ourselves and that advertisers create for us- sex, alcohol, drugs. We are looking for something so we try everything. I found this to be a theme for many in Los Angeles. Learning about the world and real issues was secondary to fulfilling our own hedonistic desires. I was no exception. I realized, however, satisfying our needs as a priority ironically creates a large amount of emptiness (whether realize it or not; in my opinion, people become numb to the emptiness). I’ve come to realize that loving others and concentrating on the world outside of you engenders a far more fulfilling life.

_________________________________________________

What I loved most about talking with Paria was her openness to talk about the changes going on in her life and the actions she took to see the world from beyond the cubicle. In her situation money is not the root of happiness and in lifestyle design, money is not the end result. The end result is waking up knowing you love what you do. Knowing that you are making a difference in your own life and then applying that to help others is a very special power we all take for granted.

One thing she is going to need to look at is finding funding to keep her aboard. Between travel and living expenses, there is a threshold that she will have to meet in order to continue to live this way. With her thinking and actions I feel there are many opportunities to hit that threshold and continue on her path to save the world, one step at a time.

About the Daraja Academy

(photo credit - Daraja Academy Flickr)

From their website:

Daraja Academy is the first free all-girls secondary school in all of East Africa. In late February 2009, 26 girls from Kenya were given a chance for a secondary education which would otherwise not be possible, given their current economic situation.

The mission of the Daraja Academy is to cultivate a community of individuals with a sense of cultural awareness, social conscience, and environmental responsibility, all while instilling talents that will enable them to open doors to a global society.

You guys know education is one of the number one things in my book to help build strength in a community. We do that here in Orlando with the homeless, educating them on opportunities to get them back and contributing to society to local children living in poverty and educating them on ways to NOT follow the status quo of their environment to kids in their 20’s on new ways to look at life beyond 50 years in a cube. The Daraja Academy is providing those same opportunities to others and I the results are amazing.

About the school and the girls there Paria says:

The school they started is located in Nanyuki, Kenya with a current class of 26 girls having started in February. These girls aren’t just any girls- they had the highest scores of Kenya’s national exam in which the children take after primary school. These young women are THE best of the best yet they did NOT have the means to pursue school any further. That’s where Daraja (which means “bridge” in Swahili) comes in. The Daraja Academy provides a four year scholarship for shelter, health coverage, food, and most importantly access to a top secondary education.

To learn more about Daraja Academy, or to make a contribution, please check out their website and their blog.

To connect with Paria, you can find her on Twitter and at her blog.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Paria’s story, any advice for her and your own adventures on leaving big companies in the pursuit of a life changing experience.

-Greg Rollett