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Young accountant, goat farmer.

Look, there are certain jobs that aren't at the top of the "dream list." You don't often meet 14-year-olds who, when asked, "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" answer: pencil pushers! But in a world of influencers and content creator wannabes, Gen Z (or at least some of them) is ready to get serious.

When many think of the Zoomer generation (born between 1997 and 2012), there are a few things that come to mind. These folks are characterized by wanting to make a difference in the world and leave it better than how they found it, but they're also not naïve. When it comes to practicality, Gen Z is all about making the most of the ever-changing world—especially the financial market.

According to an article by writer Preston Fore for Yahoo! Finance, the accountants from the Boomer generation (and there are millions of them) are retiring, leaving a huge gap. "The industry is facing a talent shortage crisis. While it’s been lamented as one of America's most boring jobs and headed down a path of extinction, Gen Z is realizing the six-figure career opportunity."

accountant, money, work, jobs, boomers, gen z, workforceSeason 8 Nbc GIF by The OfficeGiphy

Smart thinking. But in typical Gen Z fashion, many are combining their logical desire for fail-safe employment with actually making the world a better place. One way is volunteering to help others with the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program—which helps provide free tax consultation to those in need. The IRS is working with a handful of universities to help aspiring accountants in college get their feet wet AND make a difference.

Fore notes the story of Alana Kelley, a third-year student at Oregon State University. She has already helped many with their taxes, saving them much-needed money in these trying times. "One was a goat farmer who had only a landline and no access to the Internet. Another was a young woman who was financially supporting her sister. Kelley was able to help them obtain a life-changing $6,000 back in refunds."

VITA has been around for over 50 years, and Gen Zers are genuinely making use of it. Fore shares, "Last year alone, an army of more than 280 CSUN students helped over 9,000 low-income taxpayers claim nearly $11 million in tax refunds and $3.6 million in tax credits—plus save them over $2 million in tax preparation fees."

taxes, calculation, accountants, money, finance jobsFiguring out our finances may be getting easier. Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Many Redditors are backing the idea. On the subreddit r/accounting, someone asks, "Gen Z is making accounting cool again?" As expected, a few commenters push back on the "again" part. A few more respond to the aforementioned article with suspicion, as though the IRS is paying for it. But one person defends it: "VITA was a very cool program for both audit and tax aspiring accounting student to join. Most of the successful accountants I've known joined VITA. It's also led by younger students these days, so it's even more well-known within the Gen-Z students group." Another got straight to the point: "We just want money and free time bro."

Accounting isn't the only occupation Gen Zers seem to be drawn to. As there are fewer guaranteed roads to success, some Zoomers are skipping traditional college altogether and instead training to become plumbers, electricians, and other vocations that don't need a hefty degree. An article for the New York Post cites a recent study showing that a lot of folks of the Gen Z generation were interested in blue-collar work. "The survey of 2,091 people aged 18 and over found that Gen Z was becoming the 'toolbelt generation' because of the shifting attitudes and soaring cost of a college education."

plumbers, trades, vocations, work, gen z Plumbing Plumber GIF by Family GuyGiphy

With higher tuition and way less of a safety-net, many are thinking long-term, and if they can find a way to make a positive impact at the same time, all the better.


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Old Navy Back to School

"What I'm about to tell you will change everything in an instant."

The last person you might expect to give a booming spoken-word performance is a seemingly soft-spoken teacher.

But Craig Duchemin, a special education teacher at Charles Hart Middle School in Washington, D.C., found that it was one of the best ways to reach his students — namely, those with autism.


He uses unique strategies to connect with kids of all backgrounds, and poetry set to music is his most recent approach.

Watch Craig's video below:

Duchemin joins other educators from across the country who partnered with Old Navy's cause platform ONward!to create an album of songs that encourage kids to let their unique selves shine through.

While students in his classroom face a number of challenges, ranging from mild behavioral problems to autism, Duchemin is able to forge special relationships with all of them and communicate with them so effectively that he was recognized for it with an Award for Excellence in Teaching.

All images via Old Navy.

His message, "I choose you," is loud and clear: Each of his students are special, unique, and valuable based on their individual merits as people, not outside factors like appearance or clothes.

"I care more about who you are than who you wear. I choose the brain that oozes creativity, not your hairstyle," he says in his performance piece. "I choose you being different because your difference is brilliance. You are more than a label, more than a definition."

Special educators are truly some of the hardest workers in teaching — and Duchemin is no exception.

In 2009, Teach for America brought him to teach at Hart Middle School, where students also face economic challenges: 100% of students there qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

That's why his work is so important. Duchemin strives to show kids that their individual challenges are part of what make them who they are — and that who they are is special.

His efforts reach beyond the lessons of the classroom, teaching kids to be confident in their own unique selves.

Duchemin's special relationships with his students is what keeps him going.

"That’s the easiest part, loving these students and really getting to know them and developing relationships with them," Duchemin told reporter Carolyn Phenicie in a 2016 interview.

For some of these children, communication can be their #1 barrier to a career, social life, and other opportunities, so a tireless advocate like him can help provide the resources and strategies they need to communicate messages of strength, hope, and self-confidence.

"You are fearless, and worthy, and valuable," he speaks. "You, my friend, matter. You are what this world needs."

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Former gang members are helping to end violence in L.A. through an awesome program.

Ex-gang members are taking their community back, one relationship at a time.

While growing up in Southwest Houston post-Rodney King, I heard a lot about the turbulence and gang violence taking place in South Central Los Angeles.  

All images used with permission from "License to Operate."

Shows like "A Different World" and movies like John Singleton's "Boyz n the Hood"showcased the impact of gang violence and the unrest between communities of color and police.


This was the post-Jim Crow era, and black people were being pushed to the poorest corners of large cities, areas that funneled the worst drugs to a group of people already struggling to survive. With the rise of the cocaine epidemic, a push for economic improvement, and a desire for brotherhood, many young black men felt forced to join gangs.

I listened to my mostly black neighbors talk about making sure the young men in our community focused on school and work, rather than falling into what was seen as an unforgivable gang lifestyle.

But for people living in L.A., getting out of those lethal neighborhoods wasn't as easy as just going to class on time or getting an education. For the thousands of young black men who lost their lives to guns during the '80s and '90s, there were few ways out.

Aquil Basheer remembers feeling forced into gang life as a teenager.

"To get people out of the gang life, you have to show them that there's something more out there," said Basheer. "When I was coming up, that something more didn't exist."

Basheer was born in Pacoima, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. He got involved with gangs as a teenager, but a short stint in gangbanging led him to a life he eventually realized he didn't want. He narrowly escaped a prison sentence thanks to some influential role models, but he says many of his friends got life in prison or ended up buried.

For many, seeing a family member killed or losing a loved one too soon can change everything. For Basheer, it wasn't a single incident that changed everything, but rather a variety of experiences that came together to make a big issue clear to him: The city he loved was becoming unrecognizable.

Eventually, Basheer and other former gang members decided that enough was enough.

The city they knew and loved was now a breeding ground for terror. And it wasn't just their male friends who were in danger either. Now, mothers were dying — and grandmothers and children. Boundaries no longer existed, and Basheer knew that he and others had played a large role in developing that culture.

"We had to bring an [option] to the table that would get individuals away from their mindset that [this type of] life was the way to go," Basheer says.

Basheer noticed that lots of gang members wanted to change, particularly when they hit their 30s. As people matured, they wanted a safer city for their own children.

"When people start having children and when they see that their brothers and sisters are at risk, they reevaluate things and start wanting to make some major changes," Basheer said.

But to do so, they needed someone with street credibility to step in and act as a mentor.

The former gang members got together and developed a gang interventionist group.

The middle-aged men — once some of the most feared men walking the streets — decided that their children and their community deserved better. Instead of searching for help outside the community, the men looked inward to figure out how to instill peace and restoration to a city that needed it.

In 2006, the community organizers came together and developed what they called the Professional Community Intervention Training Institute (PCITI).

The plan was simple: First, they brought in a group of community elders. These men and women would act as an anchor to people in a community in crisis, such as mothers who lost sons and children who lost classmates.

By training these elders how to deal with trauma and assist in stopping gang violence, safety nets are created. Going into the community to get a larger grasp of the needs isn't as difficult as it was before.

"It's operational protocol," Basheer said. "You have to create a whole new nexus for them to attach themselves to, to get away from their normal of gang culture — the thought they have to be better than the next."

Then, most importantly, these community elders show volunteers and workers how to navigate a given neighborhood, how to mediate in stressful issues, and how to create real conflict resolution that works.

It’s this dedication to conflict resolution that is sparking a rebirth in the city’s most plagued communities.  

According to the organization,PCITI has a 93% success rate, meaning that many who were caught up in gang life are now actively working toward other options.

On a human level, PCITI has managed to grow relationships with young people in the community, which is where the real change is starting to happen. Finding at-risk gang members isn't exactly difficult, Basheer says, because most don't hide their affiliation — instead, they brag about it.  

And rather than making exiting a gang the main goal, Basheer's team works to show gang members there are other options, a concept that hasn't necessarily been taught to many living in impoverished areas.    

To understand how drastic this improvement is, you have to know a bit about L.A.'s gang history.

Los Angeles has long been hailed as the "gang capital" of America. Currently, there are believed to be 450 active gangs in the city — many of which have existed for over 50 years. Collectively, it's estimated that 45,000 individuals have been members. During the late '80s to the early '90s, almost 1,000 people died due to homicide in Los Angeles every year.

It's no secret that black and Latino men were — and still are — particularly susceptible to gang violence. In 1996, 46% of all gang members identified as Hispanic or Latino, and 35% were black. And 79% of large cities reported gang problems from 2008 to 2012.  

While Basheer’s program is certainly a pleasant addition to the city, it’s just one piece to a very complicated puzzle that continues to take lives.

Even though gang violence was steadily declining during the early 2000s, L.A. recently saw its highest rise in gang violence since 2009. LAPD data showed that almost 60% of homicides were gang-related, putting a damper on an already struggling city.  

But that’s exactly why Basheer and others keep going: They know that the road to peace and stability is never smooth. Instead, it’s often turbulent and complicated.

“These are everyday people that are part of the solution,” said Basheer. “They aren’t necessarily police officers or firemen. They’re citizens that want to improve lives in their communities.”

Basheer has also taken this plan to various communities in South Africa and Europe.

Most recently, he spoke at a UN conference focused on bringing safety to some of the world's largest cities.

"Surprisingly, the international communities get it and are way more on task than [American] urban cities," Basheer said.

He's also gotten involved with the Black Lives Matter movement, and he says this is what shows him the plan has strong potential; if his program works, the template has to be able to be replicated in other besieged areas too.

Community policing is important and effective — and it could be one of our best ways forward.

After documenting Basheer's movement in the documentary "License to Operate," producer Mike Wallen says he was surprised by how well this system was working.

“I felt like I was from an open-thinking, progressive family, but you don’t know what you don’t know,” said Wallen, who grew up in L.A. After taking on the film production pro bono, he got heavily involved with the interventionists and says he listened more than he spoke.

“It’s really important that we all care about this, whether we’re directly affected or not," Wallen said.

As distrust continues between communities of color and police, Wallen is right: Programs like this are key. It's important for people to see familiar faces in positions of authority. Engaging both parties to create solutions is a tool that everyone can work toward sharpening.

"The goal is to create sustainable communities, which are violence free, that can create their own version of sustainability," Basheer said.

The bottom line is that gang violence is a complicated issue.

But the best way to combat it might be the most basic and the most emotional: reaching out to others in your community to promote human connection, support, and mentorship.

Many young people join gangs because of the respect that comes with it and the sense of community they find. And, certainly, one solution will not fix a decades-long problem. With more people like Basheer in the mix, it is definitely possible to create a culture in which gang violence becomes a thing of the past.

Two summers ago, it seemed that everyone in the world was throwing buckets of ice water over their heads for the best reason — to help find a cure for a deadly disease.

ALS Association ringing the NASDAQ bell. Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images.


ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

The average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years, and currently there is no cure.

Two years after the ALS ice bucket challenge rocked the internet, however, things might be about to change.

A project called MinE at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has just discovered the gene that's responsible for ALS.

Benedict Cumberbatch taking it for ALS. GIF via TastefullyOffensive.com/YouTube.

Until recently, one of the biggest obstacles to finding a cure for ALS had been not knowing what caused the disease. Now that researchers can pinpoint the gene (which is called NEK1), it will be that much easier to figure out how to reverse and/or treat its effects.

This incredible scientific breakthrough would not have been possible had MinE not received a $1,000,000 grant from the ALS Association/Ice Bucket Challenge.

As such, it's only right that we pay tribute to the many people who sacrificed their dryness and dignity for the greater good.

Chris Pratt getting drenched from above. GIF via Shine On Media/YouTube.


The moment before, with Ian McKellan and film crew. Image via Keith Stern/YouTube.

Anna Kendrick, really feeling it. Image via Shine On Media/YouTube.

Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie on the set of "Mission Impossible." Image via Mission Impossible/YouTube.

When Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were still together (sad face). GIF via ALS Ice Bucket Challenge/YouTube.

Over 6,000 people are diagnosed with ALS each year in the United States alone. But this discovery puts us a big step closer finding a cure.

It's mostly thanks to a meme — a truth-or-dare type challenge that many at the time called pointless. This breakthrough, two years after the fact, just goes to show that virality does have power, power that, when harnessed in positive ways, can absolutely be used for the greater good.

Sure these GIFs and videos and images make us laugh, and sure, maybe some people didn't understand why they were participating or they were only doing it because their friends were, but the fact remains: The Ice Bucket Challenge inspired people to get up and actually do something that truly made a difference. And that's pretty incredible.