Success for the Stanford graduate can be defined in many ways. Entering a prestigious graduate school, landing a job at a hot firm, saving lives at an accomplished NGO — many take these paths oft-traveled.

Others, such as Brad Wolfe, Class of 2002, take an unconventional route the moment they step out the Farm’s cozy boundaries. Wolfe — who started playing guitar in high school and performed at the CoHo while majoring in American Studies and co-terming in the Organizational Behavior program — will be debuting his first album, “Brad Wolfe and the Moon” on June 10.

But don’t confuse Wolfe with your average aspiring rock star. His inspiration for several songs on his album is a close friend, Sara LaBoskey, for whom he named the song “Sara’s Got a Sunbeam.”

LaBoskey died at age 22 from Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Wolfe came up with “Sara’s Got a Sunbeam” when LaBoskey was first diagnosed with cancer. He played it for her during her stay at Stanford Hospital.

“That was one of the few things that seemed to have any impact” in making her feel better, he said.

Unfortunately, LaBoskey lost her battle with Ewing’s sarcoma after radiation, surgery and chemotherapy proved unsuccessful. Her memory continues to be inspiration for both Wolfe’s lyrics and his music.

“When someone who is close to you passes away, it makes you realize what’s more important to you in life,” he said. “For me, that’s music. I felt like I owed it to Sara and myself to see what I could do, and to share my music with more people. You need an inspiration, and I have a really good one. [Music] is the best way I know how to make a difference.”

In addition to inspiring Wolfe to pursue music professionally, LaBoskey’s battle also motivated her group of friends to create the Sunbeam Foundation, dedicated to funding research for childhood bone cancer. Ten percent of the Sunbeam foundation’s initial charitable donations will come directly from Wolfe’s music profits. Furthermore, his CD release party on June 10 will mark the first event to benefit the Sunbeam Foundation.

For the party, Wolfe’s band, Brad Wolfe and the Moon, after which the CD is self-titled, will perform at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The venue, which will be the place of his biggest concert to date, seats 650 people, and Wolfe said that he hopes to sell it out.

Wolfe said he and LaBoskey’s other friends decided to create the organization after realizing that there was no organization solely devoted to researching childhood and adolescent bone cancer.

“There hasn’t been any new development in Ewing’s sarcoma in the past 20 years, which is pretty shocking considering how far medicine has come,” Wolfe said.

The foundation is already working with Stanford, which just hired a Harvard professor who developed the “mouse model” for Ewing’s sarcoma. It has also found one person interested in pledging $30,000 for the cause.

Wolfe said that although the Sunbeam Foundation plans to focus solely on funding research, “research is not just a vacuum. It has implications that are far more reaching.”

He also said that in the future the group hopes to organize large national events, such as Relay for Life, along with more local events.

Long-term goals include founding a bone cancer center and ultimately finding a cure for the cancer that took his close friend away. Wolfe’s success has been hard-earned. He has spent the past years at clubs in San Francisco, such as Red Devil Lounge, Sweetwater Saloon and Pure 23.

He also has established a “home base” at the club Tongue and Groove, playing at least once a month, after his first performance opening up for a fellow Stanford graduate attracted a large crowd of friends.

Wolfe’s career is managed by 22-year-old Michael Coleman, the younger brother of an ex-girlfriend, who has worked as an assistant with Aerosmith in Boston and has video-edited with Green Day. Coleman helps Wolfe book shows, network with other bands, manage the press, maintain his Web site and create merchandise.

Wolfe also receives support from his band members, who make up the six-piece band and play instruments ranging from the electric guitar to the mandola.

Wolfe says that among them, there’s always “a lot of jamming” and a “really positive, upbeat attitude.”

As a possible future business school applicant, he also gets a chance to play with the “huge business component” of his career.

“Going to Stanford is serving me very well,” he said.

After his debut show in San Francisco, Wolfe will perform throughout California, making significant stops in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and will aim for a record deal.

In the meantime, Wolfe said he will continue working on his lyrics, which allow him to immortalize his memories of Sara and allow him to express his life philosophies in general.

“My message overall is just about living in the moment and appreciating life for what it is,” he said.

Wolfe, whose music career will most likely be determined by this debut album and summer tour, is studying for the LSATs and GMATs in the meantime.

“Music is a tough road to keep going on when you’re not making enough money,” he said.

But there are perks to being a rock star. For starters, there are the fans.

“High school fans are the best,” he said. Wolfe admitted to staying up to an hour and a half after shows to sign autographs, to which he said, “I’m a little bashful about.”

But Wolfe said he refuses to simply write off his fans as adoring strangers.

“My music is a reflection of myself so if people are connected to it, then I feel like I already know them,” he said. “Sometimes there is a disconnect between the music and the artist, but not for me.”