Callie Pitman doesn’t have a bucket list.
Instead, the 26-year-old UF alumna’s spiral-bound, Vera Bradley journal holds her life list.
“I don’t want to be afraid of dying,” the Florida native said. “I want to experience the moments that I have while I’m living and just take what I can as I can.”
Among the notes of bands she’s seen and adventures she’s taken, Pitman has written that she wants to travel the world, and now she sees an opportunity in a contest she entered.
The contest was created for the YouTube series “Global Degree,” which follows Michael Graziano and Alex Hennessy as they work on traveling to every country in the world. They are inviting one woman to join them on their four-year, all-expenses-paid journey.
According to an email Graziano sent to contestants, he and Hennessy, the videographer, will be selecting a winner Sunday based on the contestants’ video entries, how the contestants reach out on social media and how well they interact with “Global Degree” content.
Just as a university degree is earned by taking courses, travelers earn a global degree by visiting every country in the world, Graziano said for the show’s Kickstarter video.
“They realized they could get more education through real-world experiences than a lot of times you can in a classroom,” said Pitman, who graduated from UF in 2011 with a degree in health education and behavior.
In the video, Graziano said he hopes to be the youngest man in North America to visit every country. If Pitman won the contest, she would be the youngest woman to accomplish this feat.
Another item on Pitman’s life list is to make a true difference in someone’s life, and this contest could be a good opportunity.
“I just feel like there’s such a social stigma for women, especially in the South, to get out and travel,” she said.
“Global Degree’s” contest opened last month, but Pitman found out about the opportunity last week when she got an email from Hostelworld.
Pitman said she discovered her passion for traveling at 14 when she went to Australia with the People to People Student Ambassador Program.
“She’s adventuresome,” said Kathy Platt, the mother of Pitman’s best friend, who said she thinks of Pitman as a second daughter. “She recently moved to Denver. She just wanted to be in Denver. She went to Denver.”
Platt said she is in awe of Pitman’s intelligence and courage. Pitman works as a burn trauma and ICU nurse at the University of Colorado Hospital.
If she is selected for the “Global Degree” program, Pitman will visit Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands for a total of 35 countries in seven months, according to the contest website.
Pitman said she likes “Global Degree’s” mission to show budget-friendly travel options, such as staying in hostels instead of hotels.
“It’s all about money and time,” she said, “and I’ve been trying to figure out how to get that to happen now.”
When Pitman travels, she’ll be sure to pack her floral journal, she said.
“I just think that there’s a lot to do with life and not having to worry about death,” she said.
To vote for Callie Pitman, visit www.globaldegree.tv.
Callie Pitman, a 26-year-old UF alumna, poses with Mayan ruins.
Callie Pitman, 26-year-old UF alumna, does a Gator chomp while she waits for her first skydiving trip when she was 20.
