Ashley Bush and Raffi Sapire on Interviewing Inspiring Women for Route by Route
When Ashley Bush and Raffi Sapire graduated from Barnard, they already had an impressive repertoire of experiences from coursework, internships and activities. Curious about countless career paths, they still wanted to learn more. The now 23-year-old friends, who first met during their freshman year, recently set out on a journey to interview women whose careers focus on their passions— a road trip, of sorts.
Through Route by Route, Ashley and Raffi aim to explore all types of careers and document their travels on film. Their inaugural online video spotlights Charity Thielen, a musician. Upcoming segments will include everyone from a female MIT professor to an Italian winemaker. The two girls have an insatiable appetite for adventure, so buckle up and enjoy the ride, one route at a time.
Charity Thielen, a musician, teaches Ashley (right) and Raffi (center) how to form harmonies.1/7Why did you start Route by Route?
Raffi: "We met the first week of school at Barnard and became instant friends. In college, we started a FEED club [FEED Projects is Ashley's older sister, Lauren Bush Lauren's, charity] and loved to try new things together. But college career centers can only expose you to so much. When we graduated, there were so many things that we were interested in, but we weren't quite sure how to get there."
Ashley: "We were both interested in travel and meeting new people, and we wanted to go behind the scenes through Route by Route to give girls a real example of how women live their lives."
2/7These recent graduates are determined to meet women who have made careers out of their passions—and they're sharing their journey online.
Charity performs a violin solo.3/7Your first video features Charity, of the band The Head and the Heart. Can you tell us a little about Charity?
Ashley: "Charity Thielen, who’s 25, is definitely the youngest person we’ve interviewed so far. She is really courageous and dove into her career."
Raffi: "As a kid, you love to draw or play the violin. At some point, many people give that up. And the thing about Charity is that she started to play the violin when she was four years old, and she really stuck with it. Charity illustrates that you can make a career out of what you love."
Professor Sive, an MIT scientist and associate dean, explains her current research, which uses frogs to study how the mouth forms.4/7Who have you met so far?
Ashley: "So far we've met a diverse range of fabulous ladies, from a scientist to a vineyard owner. Professor Sive, an MIT scientist and associate Dean, is in love with her embryos, and studies how the face forms through the use of frogs. How cool is that? And then on the other end of the spectrum, for instance, we interviewed Joni, a restauranteur and mother of two. She started out working for organic cafes in NYC, and now she runs the most popular beach cafe in Montauk. Lines out the door every weekend."
Ashley and Raffi drive across the East Coast to conduct interviews.5/7How do you run Route by Route?
Ashley: "We started by working in coffee shops and talking about what interests us, and everything formed from there. It's a do-it-yourself kind of thing. It's not as difficult as you think. To get started, we raised funds by using Indiegogo, which we used to hire our editor and videographer, Robbie. We debated putting ourselves in our videos versus being behind the camera, and we decided to be in the videos because viewers are on a journey, and we are, too."
Raffi: "So far, we've traveled the East Coast by car. Ashley, Robbie and I hop in the car, and time flies. If you can make something you love into a career, you'll never work a day. I really look forward to expanding the project and learning about many different careers."
Ashley and Raffi examine Proffesor Sive's research in the lab.6/7What advice can you offer for teens choosing a career path?
Ashley: "Some of the best advice I've been given is to not be afraid of failure. The best approach is to try something and really go for it. More tangible advice is to take a lot of different types of classes."
Raffi: "Reach out to people whose careers you admire—the worst they can say is no!"
Ashley and Raffi talk with Joni, a restauranteur in Montauk.7/7Who inspires you?
Ashley: "It's hard to name just one person. For me, it's the fearless ones, the people who go out there and start their own movements around their beliefs, like my sister or the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf."
Raffi: "After each interview, we feel so inspired. When we meet someone like Charity, it really encourages us to stick with what we believe in."
Ashley: "We love the idea of ordinary women. We aim to show how women go from ordinary to extraordinary by doing what they love and believing in themselves."
