Some people are born to be helpers.

Recent Trident Tech grad Alexis Bailey is one of those.

At 24, she’s already led a great big juicy life, healing others through sustainability and volunteerism, educating children and their parents, and chasing adventure – and impact – across the United States.

Ever since I was in 7th grade, I researched what was going on in the world and tried to figure out how I could make it better. I was a weird little child, but I knew I wanted to help.

I also come from a very dysfunctional family, and as a biracial person, there were many different cultures influencing me. I started seeing how our health was affected by living in underprivileged areas, and I wanted to do something. I knew that plants were a possibility to make that kind of change happen, whether through creating my own medicines or growing fresh produce for our neighborhood.

Is that when you knew you wanted to pursue a horticulture degree?

No, actually. When I graduated high school, I took a gap year and then enrolled at a four-year HBCU (Historically Black College or University) with an undeclared major. But I unenrolled because my parents would’ve had to go in debt for me to stay there, and I didn’t want that.

When I got to Trident, I connected with the TRIO program, which helps people who are first-generation college students. One of the counselors asked me what I liked, and I told him, “Plants and stuff. Growing things. Helping.”

The truth was, I didn’t really know what I liked anymore. I was into robotics in middle school and wanted to be an engineer. But high school changed all that.

He said, “You know we have a horticulture program.” I didn’t even know what horticulture was, so he introduced that to me, and that’s what I pursued as my first degree at Trident.

After graduation, your aunt recommended that you apply for a position with the National Park Service (NPS), right?

Yes. She had gone to the Grand Canyon and told me about a program where the NPS paid for pretty much everything. That sounded good to me, and even though I didn’t get that job, I did land a sustainability role at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. I worked in the restaurant there, tending the rooftop garden, testing the pH of the water, preparing food, and serving it to the guests.

My favorite part was the composter, which was so big that two people had to turn it. I also enjoyed sorting the recycling. That probably sounds boring to some people, but I felt like I was making a difference.

When that contract expired, you came back to SC. What was next for you?

I started work at a landscaping company, but I wasn’t happy with that.

One day on Instagram, I saw a post that said, “Do you feel lost in life?” It was from a nonprofit educational production company, Roadtrip Nation, that partnered with PBS Kids to help young people figure out their next steps in life. I applied, got the gig, and ventured across South Carolina in an RV.

Along the way, we interviewed professionals about how they got to where they are and what makes their work meaningful. Yes, their stories were about career paths. But they also honed in on what makes us human and how everyone has a different story.

And that was the experience that inspired you to return to Trident Tech?

Yes. I still didn’t know if I wanted to go into welding, realty investment, photography, teaching. So I went back to the same counselors who had helped me the first time around and said, “I was just part of this documentary that encourages people to try different things and see what they like.”

One of them told me, “You can do most of those on your own time. But if you want to go into a field where people are really needed, we’re always going to need teachers – especially ones like you.”

That’s how I ended up in early care and education.

The first classroom I was in was a self-contained classroom for 3-year-olds, and I cried because I loved it so much. I feel like you have to have a certain heart and level of patience to help students with special abilities. They need a unique kind of care. And I want to help provide that.

One way you did that was through your leadership of the Early Childhood Development Club. Tell us about that.

I started off as vice president of fundraising and then became president. We did several projects with Charleston County First Steps, including fulfilling a wish list for a single-parent family and hosting an event for parents that gave them tools they could use at home with their children – including resources for bilingual or Spanish-speaking families.

I never thought I could be president of anything, but I wanted to show others that you don’t have to be a certain somebody to make a difference – you can be yourself and still lead.

You said earlier that social media was instrumental in helping you find your direction. (It led to your journey with Roadtrip Nation, after all!) How else has it influenced your activities?

I found one of my most meaningful volunteering activities on Instagram, with AMOR Healing Kitchen. It’s a nonprofit that mentors teenage volunteers and creates plant-based meals for people with compromised immune systems. It also provides ready-to-eat meals for people to grab and go.

We have two head chefs who come up with the meals and portions, and adult and teenage volunteers deliver meals to cancer patients or people with diabetes every Friday. We also bring them a fresh bouquet of flowers that is put together by the sweetest elderly ladies ever.

It inspires me how a few people can do so much to make a difference. A lot of people don’t realize that sometimes, that’s all it takes.

As you reflect on your experiences so far, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself?

Everywhere I go, I make a family. Whether it’s the instructors and advisors at Trident Tech, my fellow AMOR volunteers, or the people with me in the Early Childhood Development Club, I’m always adding more people to my family. And I want to help my family – my biological one that’s been touched by hardship and chaos and my great big extended one – any way I can.