A DIY Degree
Posted: 4:54PM September 20th, 2011 | Comments
Many people have asked me what I studied to become the Executive Director of a non-profit organization. Like much of the sustainability movement that subscribes to a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approach to things, I got a DIY Masters. In 1998, when I was studying for the GREs and debating between pursuing Law School, Public Policy or Social Work, I read an article in the Utne Reader by William Upski Wimsatt. In that article (linked here) he talks about enrolling in the University of Planet Earth. This was his curriculum: Live in a different city every year. Attend a different place of worship every week. Seek out hundreds of mentors to help me find answers to my thousands of questions. Spend the rest of the time in the library and on the Internet. Create lists, make charts, and undertake the most ambitious projects I can think of. Create my own personal bible, almanac, and telephone book. Live in the poorest neighborhoods in order to learn how to get along in the world and to save money, so I can travel to a different continent each year. In the years that followed I followed most of Wimsatt's curriculum with some tweaks of my own. I added the following: Live and work in another language. Throw yourself in intimidating situations. Feel like a deer in headlights once a year. Learn to see every "no" as a step towards a "yes." Grow some of your own food. Bike everywhere you can. We're collecting your thoughts on your DIY Degree. Post them on our Facebook page. -Kristen
