I am grateful to Erik Michielsen for letting me know about Capture Your Flag and its Near Peer resources. Briefly, a Near Peer is someone who has recently been through a situation you are facing now. Their story is your story, but a few years ahead. We film interviews over a series of years and package them into searchable video libraries which allow you to find inspirational online career videos to help you advance your career.

For example, this is the YouTube playlist of videos of Jon Kolko, author of four books and Vice President of Consumer Design at Blackboard; he joined Blackboard with the acquisition of MyEdu, a startup focused on helping students succeed in college and get jobs. Jon is also the Founder and Director of Austin Center for Design. His latest book, Well-Designed: How to use Empathy to Create Products People Love, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in November, 2014.

To learn more about Capture Your Flag, here is a link to its website.

Erik Michielsen is founder and CEO of Capture Your Flag. He founded Capture Your Flag in 2009 to promote Near Peer Learning as an approachable alternative to expert- and peer-based learning. An expert interviewer, Michielsen facilitates knowledge sharing by interviewing select rising leaders annually, charting their development over time to document ways aspirational careers develop. Interviews are segmented by question, creating knowledge rich and thematic driven video learning experiences used by millions worldwide. Before Capture Your Flag, Erik honed his passions for interviewing, rising leaders and idea innovation as an executive with boutique research firm ABI Research. He is a board member to non-profit Kilifi Kids and its mission to eradicate child malnutrition by using mobile health solutions. He holds an MBA from Duke University and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan. Erik loves competing in both cooking competitions and long distance races, including the 2009, 2010, and 2013 New York City marathons.