In my first job after college, I walked to work every day. At that time, I worked at the UNC General Alumni Association, in the heart of the Carolina campus, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful college campuses in the world. 

I grew up on 10 forested acres of land on the side of a mountain on the outskirts of the western North Carolina city of Asheville. My parents built our house overlooking Haw Creek Valley and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our nearest neighbor was a...