We’ve highlighted responses from some of the brightest and most talented artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in the community below.

Lin Olive

My son, who is on the Autism spectrum, is my hero because of his courage. I’ve been his mom for 10 years and still, he continues to amaze me with everything he overcomes, everything he learns on his own, and everything he teaches me. I’ve seen my son struggle with learning certain motor skills when he was younger but he never gave up, I’ve seen him frustrated with not being able to communicate but he continued to try. Read more>>

Melissa Romero

My hero is definitely my Dad, who unfortunately passed away of liver cancer in 2021. Before remarrying in 1994, my Dad was a single father struggling to raise 2 little girls. At one point, he even had to turn down his dream job because he was unable to balance the demanding hours and being a single parent. My Dad was always my biggest supporter as well as my best friend. No matter what hurdles I faced in life he was always there to motivate and encourage me to keep going. He always believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. I struggled for about a year after his passing, until one day I woke up with a new sense of determination. That day I decided to put all that pain and energy into something positive. Read more>>

Danielle Burch

My hero is Private Investigator, Sheila Wysocki. Since I met her in 2018, she has inspired me to change my career path of 25 years to pursue my passion of investigating crimes. Sheila gave me an outlet to share my ideas and opinions on actual cases utilizing her “crowdsourcing” technique. This technique implements ideas from “citizen detectives” who have a knack for sleuthing and can channel those talents into actual crime solving. Sheila always believed in me and allowed me to express my thoughts and ideas alongside her and other seasoned investigators while coaching me along the way. Read more>>

Gerley Julien

The person who is my hero is my Mother Gerta. I have learn many life lessons from my mother. After losing my mother the way I did and things I went through her voice and those lessons were more clear. Read more>>

Jamie Carlson

I am influenced by a lot of different people. I take inspiration from everyone I meet. The people who influence me the most are probably my Grandmother on my Dads side and my grandfather on my mom’s side. My Grandmother always encouraged me and I took a lot of cues from her in the kitchen. SHe is the one who taught me to clean fish and how to butcher animals. My grandfather taught me that you can continue to grow and try new things. Read more>>

Monica De Anda

My hero is my mom. She has always been so hard working, strong, and brave. I admire how she chose to better herself in classes to learn English, get her GED, work full time, and even got her Citizenship. I’m sure it was not easy for her but I’m so proud of her. In my eyes she is my hero, my cheerleader, my adviser, my role model, my friend, and my safe haven. My mom has always been so business driven. She taught me at an early age how to administer my allowance, followed by my first check, my college funds, and even my hobby funds. Read more>>

Monic Reyes

My inspiration and greatest teacher throughout my life and art career is my mother Malen Reyes a Nicaraguan fashion designer. My mother’s upbringing, unique style, and culture have impacted my vision of life, love, and self-expression. As a self-taught artist, I’ve had moments in my art career where self-doubt takes over, making me question my work, my purpose, and where I fit in. I am very fortunate that having her alongside my journey as a great role model, creative influence and motivating force has inspired me to believe in myself and share my work with the world. Read more>>

Alehna Schumacher

My heroes are my parents. Without my father I would not be where I am today with my business. He thinks very logically. Logical thinking is very crucial in being a business owner. I’ve had many struggles throughout the years being an entrepreneur. Each time I failed he was there to keep me grounded and push me to never give up. He has always believed in me and supported any next big idea I have. My mother has taught me empathy, to be judgment free and to be kind. These characteristics are imperative being a hair stylist, since my main job is to make my clients feel comfortable and beautiful. Read more>>

Norma O’Bryan

Who is my hero…My Dad. When I was little my father always taught me to be strong, independent and that I could do anything if I worked hard and put my mind to it. He was my role model for how to live life! He taught me how to act, my work ethic, how to overcome obstacles and difficulties. He taught me how to do this with love and grace.
He is the most influential person I have ever met. Read more>>

Candice White

My hero is Keybe_Writes. I call her my shero. I have never encountered another person on this earth that is like her. She is beauty, grace, love, respect, and forgettable all in one. She carries herself like a queen with everything she does. She truly is a phenomenal woman. I’ve always admired how she handles disappointments and how successful she is. To this day there are things she’s taught me that I wish I would have listened to the first time instead of learning the hard way. Read more>>