[5] Ziolkowski spent a significant part of the next year traveling the world and witnessing extreme poverty and the suffering caused by it.
Ziolkowski credited the hope he witnessed in this community from increased access to education as an experience that led him to later found buildOn.
[9] According to buildOn's website, the organization currently constructs schools in seven developing countries on four continents - Burkina Faso, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua and Senegal.
[2] Ziolkowski has shared his story with numerous corporations including Google, Microsoft and General Electric and presented at TED Long Beach.
Ziolkowski has been featured on NBC's TODAY Show,[1] MSNBC's Morning Joe,[18] PBS,[19] Fast Company,[20] and CBS Evening News.