>>Narrator: How do I know which path is best for me?

Is it possible to take on these challenges and obstacles?

Where do I even start?

What should I do with my life?

Sometimes, the only way to find is togo see what's possible Since 2001, we've been sharing the stories of people who ventured out and explored different career paths and different possibilities for their futures.

This is one of those stories.

This is Roadtrip Nation.

[MUSIC] >> Jasmin: It's been nine days on the road trip.

And I think we still have like nine more days to go.

>> Allisyn: Basically what we're doing on this trip is going around meeting different leaders in Arizona.

And just basically getting more insight, like basically, their journeys, understanding what paths we can take in order to get to where we want to go.

>> Ezequias: Today we went to the crater out in Winslow, Arizona.

>> Jasmin: And we're gonna go hiking.

I'm excited to see a big hole in the ground.

>> Ezequias: That sounded very excited.

I'm excited to see, yeah, my God.

>> Allisyn: I'm like losing it right now.

>> Ezequias: Is this the one, the dinosaur extinction one?

I swear I was reading the thing.

>> Allisyn: No, this is 50,000 years ago, so that's too recent.

>> Ezequias: Yeah, yeah.

>> Jasmin: Lets go.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: Wow Meeks [LAUGH] >> Allisyn: I'm suing the wind.

[LAUGHING] >> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: get him with the camera >> Allisyn: Yeah.

The other roadtrippers are really cool.

I would say Jasmin, she's very laid back.

She's like, all right, I'm not gonna say nothing, but I'm gonna give you that look.

And you're like, all right Jasmin, I'm gonna chill out.

And then Eze is like, he's the hype man.

He be getting me in trouble.

Yeah, but it's fun cuz our personalities blend.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: I still don't know what to expect from this trip.

But I'm excited.

We're getting ready to meet Don Salter, the owner of Saltmine Studios.

It's like the biggest studio in Arizona.

I've always been interested in the production of music.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: I study audio production at Glendale Community College.

My passion for music just kind of went into me making my own, so I've just been trying to get better at making it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: I mean, sometimes I feel it's frustrating to kinda do it, cuz I feel like it's not good enough.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: Yeah, I have a lot of self doubt.

It's cuz I know for me I listen to a lot of music and I want my music to sound like the music I listen to.

It's always in the back of my mind like, no, that's not good enough, or that beat's trash.

So that's where a lot of the self doubt comes from.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: For me, I want to finish this trip because I want to see if this is really what I want to do, or if there's something else in the back of my mind that I want to do.

>> Ezequias: Think we're here.

I'm excited, I would never think, right, all these artists in Arizona.

>> Allisyn: Yeah, yes we have big names like Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, DMX.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: Secret Paradise.

>> Jasmin: Wow!

>> Don: Hello Roadtrippers!

>> Ezequias: Hey, how are you doing?

>> Don: Welcome to the Saltmine Studio Oasis, let's go.

We're a 35-year family run recording studio compound.

>> Ezequias: I like the vibes.

>> Don: You bet, it's all about the vibe.

Welcome to the Saltmine Studio Oasis, the largest studio in the state of Arizona.

It's got five on site recording studios, and four lounges, and bedrooms, and eight bathrooms, and four kitchens.

It's gotten me to this existence that seems like it's all full of a great, glorious, planned out, scripted life.

But oddly enough, it's been very organic for me.

I had faith, faith is an energy.

It's a belief, it's a confidence that you have, that something's gonna happen if you just keep applying yourself to it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: I saw there is a bunch of speakers, are those NS10s?

>> Don: They are NS10s, very wisely pointed out.

NS10s have been in operation for.

>> Allisyn: So I'm Allyson Meeks, I went to school at Glendale Community College for audio production.

And basically I just wanted to get more knowledge and be able to pick your brain and understand more about who is the Don Salter.

>> Don: Well, getting out of high school, I went with my brother to Arizona to open up a sandwich restaurant, and we made Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches.

And then I went into real estate, and I found myself making money.

And then that enabled me to think about, what would you do with the money now?

And so I found myself buying recording equipment, writing songs.

We went into a recession, my real estate office closed, and I was a principal songwriter for a band that I had started.

So we made our studio, our band house, a recording studio.

And we got more popular, and I put more capital into it, and grew it.

So it led us to having what I have today.

So it was an organic evolution for me.

>> Allisyn: How did you basically make your path out of that second guessing yourself?

I know for me once I graduate, I'm like is this the right move, I have nothing lined up for me, basically.

It was just kind of trying to find a way.

>> Don: So music has been a common denominator for me all my life.

You know, my first real successful job I applied to be a record store clerk.

And I told him, I said, I gotta work here, this is great.

And he said, well, stand in line there's about 100 people that want a job in a record store.

I said, but I'm gonna get this job.

And I had faith.

And I said, look, I'm gonna work here for free until you hire me.

And so, I just started going down the line and said, hey, can I help you?

And basically it all came down to the fact that I've loved music.

And by the end of the day in that particular case, they hired me.

So we have interns here from the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences, as well as other colleges, ASU and so forth.

And over the course of time they become engineers here.

It's very easy for me to look back at my life and see different segments of my life leading to this exact place.

From the record store to real estate, for me to buy this multi building property to the restaurant business customer service.

And I've been able to serve DMX, and Swizz Beats, and Alicia Keys Philly Cheesesteaks at 3 o'clock in the morning.

And Lil Wayne when he's here, hey, thanks for feeding my crew.

It's like, no problem, I happen to be able to do that.

There's no absolute blueprint for success.

And when you're met with opposition and failure, go cool, that's a way I know that doesn't work.

Let me tweak it and see if I can find a way to make it work.

It's the vibes, feel it.

There's a saying, I don't know which direction to go but I feel the warmth of the sun on my cheek and I walk that way.

There's absolutely nothing that we can't do if we just go for it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: It was really awesome to meet him.

It just made me realize I have to kind of expand my horizons.

If I was to go back to school, I feel like a more diverse education will help me build that necessary resume cuz I felt like I lost all my steam.

I just needed that inspiration to kind of get back into it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: We are headed to Donna.

>> Allisyn: Yeah, this is really up your lane, so how do you feel like going into this interview.

>> Ezequias: I'm excited, I feel like I love talking, cuz I know I talk a lot, I know marketing people in this business people, they talk a lot, too.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: So I'm currently studying interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in marketing and sales and digital audiences at Arizona State University.

I still have a lot of learning and experiencing to do.

So I'm out here like, living my best life and traveling and seeing these beautiful things, and talking to these amazing leaders and some of the hardest days is kinda when I think about home or think about family.

This is all of us, so it's one of the few pictures that are all of us together.

It's also a big thing that I'm kinda like the first out of ten siblings to go to a university on a full ride.

So they have a lot of like, you're gonna do big things, you're gonna go out there do it, so that's definitely a lot of pressure.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: This has been quite a long time away from them.

>> Ezequias: My sister's at home, my mom's home with my nephew and nieces, and so I felt guilty just not being there for them.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: Nice, good job, that was a good one.

[FOREIGN] >> Speaker 5: I want two.

>> Ezequias: You want two?

>> Speaker 5: Yeah.

>> Ezequias: All right, I'm going to give you one first, finish it, okay, and then I will give you another one.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: So as far as this transition from childhood to becoming an adult, there's a lot of stress with figuring out exactly what I wanna do to find who I am as far as what I love to do and what I'm meant to do in this world.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: So today we're interviewing Donna Werking, a marketing professional who owns her own marketing firm called Northern Arizona Social, which is based in Prescott.

>> [MUSIC] >> Donna: Well, my name is Donna Werking, I'm a marketing strategist and I'm the owner of Northern AZ Social.

I was a hard worker since I was really young, and I think I get that from my mother.

She is one of nine children that actually moved here to the United States, and she worked really, really hard.

She worked a minimum wage job to raise four children.

And that was very inspiring for me as a child to see how hard my mother would work.

I've lived in cities, I lived on a farm, and actually went to Yavapai College.

And after getting my associates there in the marketing arena, I moved to Flagstaff and actually went to NAU.

I had to pay for everything on my own.

[LAUGH] >> Ezequias: We also come from very humble beginnings, close to having nothing at one point, and my mom has 10 kids.

When for me, I feel like I haven't been able to fully focus on one thing.

Having to move a lot you don't have that stability and one of the biggest things that I struggle with is I feel like I'm holding myself back.

I feel like I'm comfortable at home.

I feel like I just need to get out there, I need to just do it on my own for a little bit but there's this guilty conscious of leaving my family behind in a way.

And that kind of stops me from going out there and doing it, as much of a go-getter I am.

>> Donna: What I've learned is only you are the person that can hold yourself back, or move yourself forward.

Yes, at your age, I mean there's definitely that struggle of having a responsibility to your family, but there's a portion where you need to break away to find your dreams and accomplish your dreams as well.

And within that, I think that it actually benefits everyone, from your family to your future.

And I think having humble beginnings builds a lot of character, and that's one of the things that I got out of my youth, was other people who have grown up and they've gone to the same schools.

And they know the same people growing up, I actually had to transition and make new friends and adapt to new cultures, and so change is actually not a hard thing for me.

So I wanted to get in an industry that was constantly changing and keeping me on my toes.

So, adaptation was a key to, I think, a part of who I am today and my success in my industry.

>> Jasmin: I don't know anything about marketing, and I'm more in the science field area.

>> Donna: Okay.

>> Jasmin: But you're kinda super inspiring.

How would you go about telling someone at this stage in life, marketing is doable?

You can do it, I don't know, what would you tell someone at my stage?

>> Donna: Yeah, I mean, absolutely.

First of all, you're going to, whatever you do in life, you're always going to evolve and change.

You're not just gonna stay in one area.

I don't think anyone can put you in a box.

I love to sing, I love to draw, I like to problem solve, and marketing is such a good way to take all of these special talents that you have, and craft them even further and apply it to your industry and what you do.

So we do a lot of digital marketing, we do media buys, we work with videographers and talented people in the area to fulfill photography and things like that.

So it's ever changing, so it's finding what suits you and what makes you happy.

At the end of the day it's all about what makes you happy.

I go home every day and I'm happy with what I do.

So things like this actually make me really happy, and it's not saying yes to every opportunity cuz not every opportunity will be right for you.

So if I were to give you a tidbit of advice to just moving forward and with whatever you do, if it feels right in your gut, and it feels like it's a good move for you, then do it.

Because the most powerful thing that you could ever say is yes or no in life.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: Family is everything, but it's really important to learn how to go off and do your own thing.

You know your people are there.

At the end of the day they would want to see me doing good.

A really big part of marketing is sales and digital audiences and kind of set my foot in all their offices.

The linchpin that Donna had hosted for us definitely helped me feel motivated to like I can go out there and kill it already.

>> Jasmin: When we were talking to Donna, marketing just seemed really interesting, especially since there's not a lot of marketing in biology, and it's really needed.

And I was like whoa!

That's an option, I can do that.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: I know Jasmin she's gonna make us some pupusas, which I'm excited for.

>> Jasmin: Pupusas are you get a ball of dough and you start finding out you put on a stove.

Usually they have a big plancha or komal or a pan.

[LAUGH] >> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: I was actually really nervous, especially because there's just so much preparation to go into it.

Can you put more water?

But the day that we chose to make pupusas, I noticed that I could just ask for help.

[LAUGH] If you can, can you open them a >> Ezequias: Yeah.

>> Jasmin: And put a little bit of it.

>> Ezequias: A little bit in a cup?

Yes, chef.

>> Jasmin: The other two Roadtrippers were calling me chef.

Like, I felt like Gordon Ramsay.

>> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: At the beginning of the trip, I was more of an observer.

I was more like questioning everything, and not really living at the moment, but I realized that, I can talk to these people and I feel comfortable around everyone and I can have fun.

Wow, it's better than mine, look at that!

>> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: Today's the last interview.

Coral Evans is the former mayor of Flagstaff, Arizona.

She is a social nonprofit public policy entrepreneur.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: How are you doing today?

>> Coral: I am doing awesome.

>> Allisyn: Awesome.

>> Coral: Nice meeting all of you.

>> Allisyn: Likewise.

Just to start off, could you tell us a little bit more about yourself and all the roles you basically take over here in this city?

>> Coral: So, I am a fifth generation Arizonian.

I had the opportunity to serve as mayor of the city of Flagstaff for two terms and to be on council for two terms.

But I've also had the opportunity to be a DJ.

I've been a dishwasher, a small business owner, ran a bar.

I have been on and off with nonprofits for like the last 25 years.

You know, I'm one of those individuals that if I see something and I want to go do it, then I'm gonna be all up in the mix and doing it.

It's just kind of how it goes.

>> Ezequias: Did you always feel like you were gonna be like, did you always want to be mayor or.

>> Coral: No, did I want to be mayor?

I grew up in the projects, I had to be clear with everybody, right?

I literally grew up in the projects.

I had no clue what a mayor was.

I had absolutely no clue, right.

So, to be clear, I did not graduate from high school.

I got my GED when I was like 19, went to community college, bounced over to NAU, bounced to University of Phoenix, got my MBA.

Went back to NAU and got a certificate in public administration, ended up buying my house in a neighborhood here in town, and there was a shooting.

And next thing I know, I'm standing next to the police officer, the police chief at the time, and I am mediating between the police and the neighborhood.

I went from there to another neighborhood where the city was going to tear down a historic building and they were going to sell it, and the neighborhood was like, hey, wait a minute, that's our building.

I ended up leading an effort there.

But somehow that snowballed into me running for council.

I decided halfway through I was gonna quit and not run for council.

Some guy walked up to me that day and was like, you think because a black guy won in Illinois, you have a shot in hell at being on the Flagstaff City Council.

I had no clue who won in Illinois, had no clue.

Wasn't interested in any of this stuff.

That night I found out that there's this guy and he's black and he's running for president, right.

And I was okay.

Yeah, we're going to go ahead we're going to get the rest of these signatures.

And I think that's what we have to do.

Go where people don't expect you to be and be a part of that, right?

Maybe they need to see black people, LGBTQ, indigenous.

>> Allisyn: I completely understand that, I know for at least for me I'm trying to get into a field where it's mostly white and dominantly male, so it's like how did you deal with that pressure of being the black woman in the entire crowd?

>> Coral: First and foremost, when I walk in that room I'm walking in that room with everybody who's with me, I mean that is all there is to it.

So my grandpa's there, my grandma's there, I got my kid, I got my [FOREIGN], we all walking in that room.

You might just see me walking in the room, but I got people behind me and I'm here on the people's business, period end of story.

You know there's an African proverb that says, if you have no enemy within, nobody outside can hurt you.

I know I grew up in the projects, I know I came from a single parent family.

I know my mom was a single parent.

Guess what?

So was, I, okay?

I know that I've been a dishwasher.

I know I've been a maid.

I know I've worked in the Arizona Roadhouse which is a straight-up bar, okay.

I got no problem with that, because that's who I am and all of the experiences that I've had in my life is what made me good at being mayor.

>> Jasmin: I love that you say that cuz sometimes I think about the past jobs that I've done, and how I don't even mention them on my resume.

Because I feel sometimes I feel like, I did small jobs.

But now that I realize it's a journey that I went through to become who I am now, it's like thank you for that, I appreciate what you just said.

>> Coral: The best way to be mediocre is to follow somebody else and to do it their way, that's the best way.

>> Allisyn: Yeah, I definitely go through that a lot with always feeling like I got to make a certain sound to make it, you know?

>> Coral: You need to do your own sound.

>> Allisyn: Yeah.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: Wow.

>> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: Speechless.

>> Allisyn: I know, I was like!

>> Coral: You should be 100% in the moment.

I know you guys are supposed to figure out what you want to be when you grow up.

I personally don't think you guys should be figuring that out.

I think you guys should be 100% enjoying the ride, soaking it all up, talking to everybody you can, right?

You guys are walking this journey, you should walk it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Coral: I'm still like, hey, you know what, I'm gonna do this for a while and then I'm gonna do something else.

I really feel that as long as you are walking your path, you'll figure it out.

Why are you worried about it?

Walk your path.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allisyn: That one was really cool because it is like something for all of us.

She's like don't conform and I was like, she came for me, man, I was like.

So it's just, for me, stop playing myself to a point of I'm not good enough.

So, that's why it stuck with me.

>> Ezequias: I felt like she was very, very true to herself and where she came from.

Coming from the projects.

And, so for me, it was very reassuring cuz a lot of the times when I'm going for internships or in this educational environment, I felt like where I came from sometimes I need to put it away so that I can present myself in a different way.

Trying to be someone you're not and along the way she stayed true to who she was and she didn't forget where she came from.

All right guys, where to?

>> Jasmin: She was like I used to be this, this, and this, and this, and this, and then I became the mayor and then I became this and I was just like, man I have, I've only done like two things.

But she was just like, you need to think about it.

You're so young.

You have so much time to figure out what you want to do.

Because then you realize like, you take this slower.

I need to like calm down and know that there's gonna be opportunities in the future that I can take, and not stress myself out about it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: Laundry time.

>> Allisyn: All right, where's the laundry?

>> Jasmin: Today's the last day for the road trip.

>> Ezequias: At first, I think all of us were kind of really shy, but I definitely feel more comfortable with them.

I think they're awesome people.

>> Jasmin: Eze and Allisyn are super funny, it made me realize that with new people I can just start off with being myself 100%, that's what I learned from this trip.

>> Allisyn: We started in, what, Mesa?

>> Ezequias: Arizona is very beautiful place.

It's bigger than I thought, it's more beautiful than I thought.

>> Allisyn: There's a lot of things that people don't know about.

>> Jasmin: It's so beautiful here.

>> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: I've actually been like dropping pins on places that we've been to on where I would like to take the family or some friends.

>> Allisyn: Definitely my eyes have been opened on this trip.

Just being able to be in those rooms made it kind of easier to say okay, I've sat like six feet across from a CEO, sat across from a business owner.

One person I really like resonated with was Don when we went to Saltmine.

It put in my mind to go back to school, getting back into music.

My eyes are so open right now.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: For me, I'm feeling really good to go home actually, I feel like a good amount of motivation to go back to work, school, and kind of put my everything back into it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Ezequias: Being away from home for a bit was definitely good, I was able to see the reassurance as far as being who you are, just be myself, talk, kind of share what I am.

And there is something out there for me [LAUGH] >> Allisyn: Thanks for making this trip memorable.

I guess we can hang out or something.

>> Ezequias: I guess.

>> Allisyn: I guess.

All right, share my schedule.

>> Ezequias: [LAUGH] Schedule me in?

>> Allisyn: Yeah.

>> Jasmin: What sticks out to me the most is like you need to surround yourself with that special group of people that empower you to do things.

>> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: Being around all the leaders and stuff like that, >> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: Gets you really motivated.

>> [MUSIC] >> Jasmin: It has made me realize like wow, I can do so much.

Wondering what to do with your life?

Well we've been there and we're here to help Our website has some awesome tools to help you find your path And you can check out all our documentaries, interviews and more Start exploring at roadtripnation.com