10 Under 10 Award Recipient: Travis Rieth ’10

“He travels North America as a photographer, writer, consultant, adventurer and advocate.”

Ten Under Ten Award Recipient Travis Rieth ’10

Travis Rieth, also known as Travis Wild, has lived a life of adventure, leadership, and service within numerous communities and through various roles. He says, “I am guessing why I was nominated for this award is not due [to] what has made up my professional career, but the life I’ve lived outside that as a writer, photographer, and someone who goes on adventures.” Rieth graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Hope College.

Following his graduation from Hope College, Rieth worked as a primary counselor at the Dale House Project in Colorado Springs, where he worked with adolescent men and women who had been abused, homeless, in gangs, in juvenile detention, or in the foster care system in some capacity. After this position, Rieth lived homeless voluntarily in Denver in order to better understand how to empathize with a population few understand and for which he would focus on unconditional love. Rieth said he wanted to be “a Christian in a place it is desperately needed and living out love rather than just telling about it.”

This experience led Rieth to focus his efforts on speaking, writing, and leadership in the field of empathy. He has written two books: one about the adventure and lessons he gained leaving a life of comfort to live homeless for a short period of time, and the other is a children’s book for kids who have been abused or trafficked.

In 2011, he returned to Holland where he created a position at the Holland Rescue Mission focused on outreach and helping to build community programs to prevent recidivism. He led a few Hope College Greek Life retreats and coached varsity lacrosse at Holland Christian High School. Rieth then moved back out West where he worked as a Young Life mountain lodge caretaker just outside Lake Tahoe, California, where he coordinated the onsite activities and adventures for groups. From 2015 to 2017, Rieth worked as a travel director for PepsiCo, Marriott, Hewlett Packard, Mercedes, and New York Life.

Rieth founded Wild-Writes, a start-up company that provides photography, videography, design,  writing, digital and consulting services to brands in order to help better tell their stories. Outside of his work with his company, he is focusing on the publication of the books he has written and with aspirations to build on his work as a journalist and photographer. Find him on Instagram.

Travis Rieth receives his 10 Under 10 Award from Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Volleyball Coach Becky Schmidt.

The “10 Under 10 Awards” honor emerging leaders who are making significant contributions by living out their callings; engaged in the local and global community through professional and/or volunteer involvement; and use their education to think about important issues with wisdom and clarity, communicate effectively to bridge boundaries that divide human communities and act as agents of hope living faithfully into their vocations. Designed for alumni who are within 10 years of graduation, they are presented by the Hope College Alumni Association. Make a nomination today!

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