Today we’d like to take a moment to applaud the parents who despite many challenges, did they best they could and did right by their kids. We asked folks to share stories of what they feel their parents got right and have shared highlights below.

Monique Lowery

My parents taught me the value of hard work. One thing that always stuck with me from my childhood is that my parents worked hard for everything that we had. My dad always told us that anything is possible if we believe and work for it. Learning this at a young age inspired me to start working and making my own money as soon as I could. I started working my first job at 15. I was in high school working two jobs and passing all my classes. I developed a strong work ethic as a young person. Read more>>

Jenelyse Woolery

There are many things my parents did very wrong. Being young parents and living in a modern world striving for conveniences certainly created a tinge of false ego around material possessions. However, they both come from very simple upbringings. I learned my father spent much of his childhood on his family farm in Missouri. They had to use an outhouse there, so naturally as he progressed in his career with modernization at the forefront he never went back to the land nor took us to these magical familial places. Read more>>

Stefanie Joyce

My parents did so much right! But they definitely fostered my interest in the arts from a young age. My parents- and my grandparents- are all avid readers, and I grew up surrounded by stacks and stacks of books, and constant discussion about them. There was always music playing; my dad is a jazz player and my mom plays piano. So even though neither of my parents pursued art professionally, they planted deep seeds of artistic inspiration. They also really nurtured our intellectual ability; Read more>>

Daniel Roa

My parents always encouraged me to be a free thinker, leader, and to always stay true to myself. I was pushed to be the best version of myself but also to lead with compassion and kindness. This has been monumental to me within my career and past experiences. As a proud queer and non-binary person there can be many challenges within the workplace or clients. Read more>>

Carrie Relyea

Growing up in a family full of entrepreneurs, I knew from the start I marched to the beat of my own drum and always wanted to be in control ( hence being a planner!!) It all began when I walked into my grandmother’s eclectic home. Every Thanksgiving, she would put together beautiful tablescapes with the most gorgeous China. My mother and grandmother create a timeline, a menu, and compose an unforgettable experience for each holiday. Read more>>

Tom Griggs

Simply, my parents never said a word about my choices or questioned my path. They allowed me to make the path myself and showed faith in my capacity to make decisions, even while I always knew they would be there in the event that the wheels completely fell off. Read more>>

Brittney Thornton

My parents were both in the Army so to obedient and discipline was a requirement growing up. My mother home schooled after regular public school and my father would apply our knowledge through life skills and experiences. I’m grateful for the exposure to different environments and places all over the world that they showed me. My career has been influenced by being diversely cultured and I appreciate them setting the bar high. Read more>>

Jodie Morgan

As the second generation of a growing family business, the decisions my parents made (and continue to make on occasion) are an integral part of the foundation of Grinder’s Switch Winery. As a kid, my brother and I watched our parents work their tails off in order to make their business profitable (we owned a maintenance supply business at that time). As soon as I was old enough, I was expected to help fill orders, pack boxes, take inventory, etc. Read more>>

Tim Hohenstein

I often think about this now that I’m a father myself. Throughout my entire life, my parents have been extremely supportive of me, and any path I chose. Whether it was trying something that I’ve never done before or changing my major during my senior year of college, their support didn’t waver. They’ve always encouraged me and taught me to listen and learn from the people around me. As I started my business, I used those lessons to connect with other individuals that had started their own business and navigated the entrepreneurial landscape to try to learn as much as I could from their experiences. Read more>>

Saylor Surkamp

My mother always tells me a story, that when taking me out of my car seat I looked up with her and said – “I was born to dance, and I was born to sing, and thats what I was born to do.” I’m pretty lucky, in that I was born into the industry. My father came from a long line of painters, and was the lead singer of a Prog Rock band from the 60’s & 70’s called Pavlov’s Dog. My mother is a fine artist with a business background, sings backup and plays some rhythm guitar. Read more>>

Aliyah Allen

My parents, James Allen and Angela Andrew’s, did an amazing job at exposing me to life beyond my city. I’m from Flint, Michigan and I love my city, but I’m so thankful I was able to travel all over as a young child. I learned about differences in the way people live life, look, act, think, etc. It helped me develop an open mind about people and to have a want to see love through the prospective of other people. It helped me see more possibilities in life and helped me to achieve dreams my environment said were impossible. Read more>>

Rinah Gardner

I can’t say enough about how my parents’ great example impacted my life and career! First, instilling a positive mindset. We are definitely a “glass half full” kind of family!  Another would be raising me plant-based. We were all-natural, head to toe, inside & out, before it was popular! Plant-based products weren’t available mainstream, so my mom would make a lot of things we needed from scratch, including hair products, such as oils. Now, as a Natural Hair Care Specialist & salon owner, I’m able to implement what she taught me to help my clients achieve and maintain healthy hair! Read more>>

Maddy DePaul

My parents did such a wonderful job of giving me so many art opportunities. I am not talking about buying me the latest and greatest 64 pack of Crayola crayons with the sharpener. I am talking about letting me figure out how to make my own 64 pack of crayons using my moms baking dishes, a 12 pack of primary color crayons, and the oven. My parents were constantly just letting me figure it out and use whatever supplies in the house I wanted to. One of my first memories of being creative without limits was around the age of four or five. Read more>>

Sarah Feldman

Growing up, I was surrounded by entrepreneurs. Since most of my family started their own businesses at some point, that was just how I learned to tackle challenges. Whenever I wanted something new, the message was, “get a job”. Well, that’s hard when you’re 9, with child labor laws and all. I remember wanting a guinea pig. I was convinced this was the right pet. When I asked my parents, I got the same response I’d heard before, “get a job”. Read more>>

Jasmine Dixon

Initially being asked a question like this, you want to acknowledge all that they’ve done for you! It’s way deeper than that! However, I do appreciate my parents for everything. They’re some pretty dope old folks lol. My mama passed when I was 19 and with her passing, I started to see everything that she would say or show me. Like she left her mark on people. She was the person that would get you going. One of the main things that was displayed was to treat people better than they treat you. Read more>>

Sherelle Nabors

My parents were extremely hard working people. Both held a strong entrepreneurial spirit. My dad worked hard for a company over 25 years. My mom had a home daycare in our basement for over 10 years and then finally decided to expand and get a building. She moved her business into that building and started a daycare center and preschool. Seeing the both them elevate while facing trial and error was extremely inspirational. Read more>>

Flo Brem

I grew up with a single working mom. She did everything she could to make sure 3 kids were raised well and provided for. Through all of it, she alway said “Find something that makes you happy, and then figure out how to get paid.” She never held me back or told me to pursue something more sensible. Read more>>

Kevin Clayborn

“My parents gave me what they had.” My parents were pastors of a local small church in a small town. So, of course, we weren’t rich and neither were there a lot of resources and/or opportunities to be creative. However, both of them were church musicians in that my father and mother, both, played guitar and my mother also played a little piano. Read more>>

Charity Elaine Lacy

The best thing my parents could’ve done is raise my siblings and I in church. While I have separated from religion, it’s because of my upbringing that I ever dug deeper into God….the mind of God, the demeanor of God, the authenticity of God. It was my upbringing that taught me how to respect my elders and “couth”. Read more>>

alvin frazier

My parents were both very musically inclined and they played music in our home daily. In fact, my dad was a singer and had a vocal group he performed with. They often rehearsed in our living room and they sounded amazing! Their cover renditions were just as good or even better than the originals. Those guys were just that good. As a kid, I was attached to my father’s hip and wanted to be wherever he was and do whatever he did. My mother couldn’t keep me out of that living room. Read more>>

Katelyn Carano

I never realized that my parents had given me the gift of being able to follow my creative passions until years after I was already doing it. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties, when I started speaking with others my age, that I realized how unique my situation was. It wasn’t that my parents ever pushed me to have to “follow my dreams” or gave me one concrete action. You better believe they spent uncomfortable nights supporting me- driving me to Mexico for my first show, coming even to the raunchy burlesque shows. But the real gift was in in everything they didn’t do. Read more>>

Jazlyn Bailey

My parents did everything in their power to raise me and guide me right. They always pushed me to be my best but, most importantly do what makes me happy. Realistically, a lot of people feel like after high school the only thing next is to continue on your education to get a good job. My mom allowed me the opportunity to figure out what in life would fulfill me. 5 years ago graduating from high school, I didn’t see myself focused in school. Read more>>

Dawn Branch

They kept me on a busy schedule. Everyday I was either in dance class, modeling or acting classes l. This enabled me to have a hard work ethic and trained me to have constant motivation towards my goals. Read more>>\

Tiffany Washington

Growing up as a child my parents were committed to making sure we were provided for. They both were hard worker. My dad served in the military for over 30 years and my mother who worked in several service industry companies. They’re both are now retired. I can remember my mom always being the classy woman having a passion for fashion and decorating. I believe that’s where my passion for fashion and being creative arrived from. Read more>>

Christa Wells

One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me was the confidence to use my imagination as a tool of resilience. My Dad was an officer in the army which meant frequent relocations with four kids and a grandmother in the household. Sometimes we were in a house, other times in an apartment–west coast to east coast and even overseas. Now that I’m an adult and a parent, I understand how incredibly challenging it must have been to make all the decisions and forge new connections, not to mention simply unpacking again and again and re-arranging furniture and decor. Read more>>

Marie Ryan

My parents, although very different, have a shared ideology. Their ideas, beliefs, and principles aimed to explain the world to me and to change it. They taught self- awareness and awareness of others. This allowed me to always be acutely aware of the suffering around me. My parents always recognized the suffering of people in the community and offered help. Read more>>

STEPHANIE KING

My mom was a hard worker. She taught my sister and I the value of a great education, reading, listening, and understanding. When I was younger my mom was a nursing assistant while attending school to be a nurse. It was a very stressful time for us. He hair fell out but she never gave up. I watched my mom study day and night. She passed the nursing exam and became a nurse. All of her dreams were coming true. Read more>>

Casey Simmons

greatly impacted by them both. I’d like to think I took a lot of lessons from my mom, and my dad, and used those lessons to grow into my own. I began playing tennis at age 7 and began working out with a trainer at age 12 to help strengthen my tennis game with a lot of stability, agility, and strength training. I took my tennis career all the way to college, where I played for Florida State University. Read more>>

James Blanchett

I was raised as the oldest of 6 children to carpenter and a homemaker/adminstration assistant. They both are very hard, honest working people. From the time I could hold a hammer, my father would take me to work with him on every break from school and all summer. When I turned 15, my freshmen year of highschool, my parents asked me if I wanted to homeschool and work full time as a carpenter’s apprentice under my father. I agreed and was excited at first. Read more>>

Rachel Lavigne

When I was young, I always had crazy ideas stemming from my creative mind. Many of them were inconvenient for my parents… meaning they usually made a mess! I would make up art projects, try building furniture out of logs or cardboard, made all of my own Halloween costumes, and things like that. A couple of my DIY costumes were a McDonald’s drive thru, a toilet (complete with an aluminum foil flush & the toilet bowl was the candy reservoir…), and a Wii remote. Read more>>

Godfrey Riddle

I launched Civic Saint in tribute to my late parents, Cecil and Goldie Riddle. Our company values align with principles they instilled in me and demonstrated throughout their lifetimes: integrity, inclusion, and public service. I can recall countless memories of my mother opening our home to friends and family who’d fallen on hard times from the time I was in elementary school all the way through her final years. My father was always right there to support her passion for helping others, and that favor was returned to our family the summer after my 7th grade year when we lost our first home to foreclosure. Read more>>

Elizabeth Roden [Eliza Jayne]

I was very fortunate to have super supportive parents. They both allowed me to express myself as an individual growing up. I was never discouraged for being myself and being unique. I grew up with 3 sisters and I was the Tomboy of the 4 of us. Always wanting to play sports and rough house. I believe that their support and encouragement helped me to grow into the confident and successful person that I am today. I can remember when I was 17 and I tan for Miss Pennsylvania USA which was the preliminary to Miss USA. Read more>>

Veronika Voskalchuk

I was lucky to start dancing when I was 6 year old. My mom simply took me to dance school. There was nothing extraordinary in this move. Ballroom dancing and ballet have always been an essential element of a girl’s education. But what my parents did afterwards, I think, was extraordinary and unusual to the upbringing of those days (since the collapse of Soviet Union) – they let me decide for myself. Read more>>

Mary Heather Hickman

Something that I really appreciate my parents teaching me from an early age is that if you want something you have to work hard for it. They have always told me that you have to hustle for what you love and want it more than anyone else. Growing up, they were always a great example. I’ve watched my dad go from a store manager in small-town Arkansas to building his own construction business. Read more>>

ERICA YOUNG

I was raised in a two-parent household. My parents were total opposites; my father, Eric, was a city boy from Saint Louis, Missouri and my mother, Missie, was a country girl from a small town Boley, Oklahoma. So, I go the best of two different worlds. My mother was slightly quiet but taught me poise, how to be gentle, and how to state my thoughts in a manner that displayed my character and decorum. Read more>>