The old definition of success told us that only a few pathways led to an amazing career and an extraordinary life. But in a world where each person has different aptitudes, abilities, and life experiences, any singular path simply doesn’t work for everyone. Take college, which hasn’t always been a realistic option for all learners. Forcing people to conform to traditional outcomes limited them to decisions that didn’t fit their needs and failed to produce the workers that society required.
Now, a growing movement is challenging those old ideas.
The Who Are You?™(WAY) campaign is empowering the next generation to define success on their own terms by serving as a platform for alternative pathways and connecting learners to resources to explore their unique gifts and talents and create real career momentum.
What is WAY?
Who Are You?™, powered by the philanthropic community Stand Together, is empowering young people and society to redefine career success through the lens of culture, creativity, and self-discovery. It aims to solve a major problem:
- 71 million Americans can’t advance their careers because they lack college degrees.
- 86% of people support nontraditional pathways such as apprenticeships — especially Generation Zers seeking meaningful careers — but the prevailing narrative and stigma around these pathways are hindering their adoption.
WAY challenges these conventional views on success and education and encourages young people to pursue purposeful and individualized workforce paths with lifelong learning. It seeks to open doors for those who’ve been overlooked and excluded by traditional education systems, helping Generation Z, parents, and employers embrace different pathways to professional growth.
WAY benefits not just learners but businesses and hiring managers looking to stay competitive by filling talent gaps. It lines up with Stand Together’s goal to shift America’s culture from one that prioritizes traditional markers — such as degrees and titles — to one that prizes individual talent and aptitudes.
Who Are You?™ began during The Weeknd’s “After Hours Til Dawn” North American Stadium Tour in May 2025. Each stop of the tour featured a WAY Station — a video booth encouraging concertgoers to ask, “Who are you?” and share their thoughts and experiences. WAY has since amassed over 1,800 WAY Station videos and 160 million video views.
Who is involved in WAY?
The campaign is a collaboration between Stand Together — which tackles the root causes of our country’s biggest problems — and No More Dreams Studios, a creative entity dedicated to building visual narratives through digital and physical mediums. No More Dreams was founded by La Mar Taylor, the cofounder and creative director of XO Records. Since launching, numerous other artists, brands, business leaders, and technologists have participated in WAY, including:
- Killer Mike, a Grammy Award-winning rapper, activist, and entrepreneur who champions skilled trades as a pathway to economic opportunity.
- Sir Richard Branson, the business icon who founded the Virgin Group in 1970.
- Melissa Proctor, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
- Iddris Sandu, a self-taught technologist and entrepreneur who has become a leading young voice in Silicon Valley.
What is Stand Together’s vision for the future of work?
Stand Together envisions a society where every person can realize their potential. That requires empowering people to discover purposeful careers.
Unfortunately, people are directed to jobs based on one-size-fits-all education and workforce pathways. While a four-year degree is right for many people, it’s not the only or appropriate path to success for many others.
How to get involved and learn more
- Learn more about the Who Are You?™ movement at WAY.org.
- Sign up for the WAY newsletter.
- If you run an organization, company, or community that shares the mission, WAY would love to connect.
- Read articles and watch videos on how our partners are playing their part to transform how we think about learning and work and how they connect.
- Explore ways you can partner with the Stand Together community.
The Stand Together community partners with changemakers who are tackling the root causes of America’s biggest problems.
This employer found skilled employees in unlikely places by focusing on human potential.
This school prioritizes passion and flips the script on traditional learning.
Cleveland-based manufacturer Jergens has gained a competitive advantage.
The company developed a deep talent bench of Ohio natives to meet its workforce needs.