“He came in asking about a career in journalism, but all I could offer was a crude rucksack and a bit of hardtack for his journey west," Klein said. “There’s nothing here for him. Our hope is that the sprawling highways and railroads of rural America will awaken something in him. Maybe he’ll come back someday with stories of his adventure, maybe we’ll never see him again. But as far as career opportunities go, this is all we’ve got.”

Klein also suggested that the student invest in a newsboy cap and a pair of overalls before cramming into a jalopy with a ragtag group of wanderers and riding off into the great unknown. “Just throw your resume into the wind, hop on a train, and get the hell out of this godforsaken town,” she told him.

“I left him with the same resources I give every student I advise,” Klein added. “$8.59 in change, a few loose cigarettes, and four cans of beans for the road. That should help get him at least as far as West Virginia, but the journey will be grueling. I wish him the best of luck.”

At press time, Klein began asking her advisees whether they’d thought about selling their belongings to book passage on a ship and sailing off to new horizons.