Ever dream about changing the world? Christie Mullen, a 2010 University of Maryland alum, is doing it – college by college.
Mullen signed up for the Flying Kites MYTURN College Tour last fall, and has been on a cross-country RV tour for a good cause since January. Flying Kites, a global organization that raises awareness and funds for the betterment of child care in third world countries, started the College Tour to spread the world to college students. “We visit various college campuses and simply talk to students to get them excited about the possibility of making a real change in the world,” Mullen said.
After college, the government and politics major began working at a law firm as a legal assistant while she waited to hear back from law schools for the next academic year. But how did Mullen get involved with this unconventional post-college plan?
“I was working a 9 – 5 job in New York for awhile and I actually did love it. However, knowing that the rest of my life would most likely consist of jobs similar, I decided I wanted to do something different. Flying Kites just seemed to be a perfect fit; when else are you going to get to travel the entire country for a good cause? I strongly believe that as young people, we have the ability to seek change and follow our hearts, and that is what I did,” Mullen said.
A UMD Kappa Alpha Theta alum, Mullen was originally attracted to Flying Kites because of its name. The sorority’s symbol is the kite, and “I thought it was funny that the organization was called ‘Flying Kites’ since I was a Theta,” she said. But it was the organization’s mission that made her commit. “The overall idea of appealing to Greeks and college students across the board, along with the road trip, sold me.”
Starting in Utah, Mullen has traveled to college campuses in Oregon, California and Nevada, and will soon make the trek cross-country to Michigan, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina and Maryland, among other states.
Mullen and her teammates talk to a group of students at Santa Barbara.
The cause has caught more than just the eyes of college students – corporate meetings and events have been added to the tour due to attention from other national organizations. Mullen mentioned a KSWISS event and a meeting with Rip Curl headquarters as just a couple of the ways that Flying Kites is catching on across the U.S.
And this is no 9 – 5 job. In addition to the daily meetings, events and presentations at various colleges, the MYTURN team spends its nights promoting at local bars. These events are called “Cover for a Cause,” where donations for Flying Kites are taken at the doors of local college venues. “We have been able to meet a lot of contacts this way, as people are always intrigued by who and what we are,” said Mullen.
The tour has three permanent members, along with founders and others from the organization joining them for various meetings and events. As a team that spends every waking (and sleeping) hour together, one might imagine they’d be pretty close by now. “Mark, Wil and I are always on board – we are a family, no questions asked,” Mullen said.
Getting close with college students around the country in a short period of time has been one of the main struggles of the tour for Mullen. “At every college we go to we are meeting awesome people – people who really care and want to help. You can feel the excitement among students. It sucks because we do eventually have to move on, but have tried out best to keep in contact after we leave,” she said.
So has a tour that has been so consuming to Mullen affected her future in law? “I still do think I eventually want to go to law school, but this has certainly opened my eyes to other careers,” Mullen said. She mentioned a teammate’s personal organization, “Surf for the Cause,” and getting involved with that when the MYTURN tour concludes.
Want to get involved? Make sure to catch the conclusion of the MYTURN College Tour at UMD on April 24-28!