Chris Sullivan

Hello, Mandy, Chris, and Sterling.

My name is Ariana, and I live in Orlando.

Shout out.

Oh, my gosh.

My road trip story really starts years before I ever got in the car.

On New Year's Eve 2014, my dad was tragically murdered.

Oh, my God.

I was a freshman in high school, and it was the first time my world ever truly broke.

Oh, Ariana, I'm so sorry.

My father was extremely involved in the community and a leader to many.

As many do after losing a loved one, I struggled with feeling a purpose.

I didn't know what to do with my grief until I found Thirst Project, a nonprofit that helps provide clean water to underdeveloped communities.

I started fundraising with them and felt a true purpose in serving others and making a difference.

Years later, right as COVID started to spread, I began an internship with Thirst Project that took me on a cross-country road trip.

After three intense weeks training and living in Los Angeles with my cohort, we packed up the car and started driving California, Utah, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, a new city every week.

Thousands of students, long stretches of highway that somehow felt like healing.

Those six or seven weeks cut short by six weeks when the world suddenly shut down were filled with laughter, tears, gas station pep talks, late nights, and moments of pure awe.

It was the first time since my dad died that my world felt hopeful again.

Now I listen to your podcast on the way to work, usually crying after the fan segment.

I work at a local nonprofit called United Against Poverty that offers a hand up to families facing poverty.