As an outsider, breaking into an industry can often seem like an impossible challenge and so we reached out to some very generous folks who agreed to share their stories of how they broke into their respective industries.

Alyssa Salter

When I first began advocating for disability and neurodiversity rights, it was very scary. I had worked previously in non-profit spaces but I had always led myself. I was coming into a role that was newly created specifically for me to do my best work, with a team and leadership that was behind me and with me 100%. Read more>>

Esther Levy-Bremer

As I got back home from my internship in China, I realized that most of the people I met had dealt with a medical issue of some kind, whether it was acute or chronic pain or an internal disease. Most had consumed Western medications, but few of them got better. Read more>>

Colby Parrish

I had spent about a year and a half studying and working on my spiritual journey, discovering what that was and my.place in the spiritual community. One of the major focus of studies was psychic development and divination. This i clouded both independent study and group workshops at one of my local metaphysical shops, Enchanted Earth. Read more>>

D. Kyrt Gates

It all started with a girl. In my 20’s I was working as a bartender, in a band as well working in the mall at a clothing store. I was dating this girl at the time whose parents thought I should be in college (it was almost a requirement to date their daughter) so I looked for something that wasn’t going to take a long time, so I chose “Medical Assistant.” Read more>>

Sarah Peck

I went back to nursing school as a second career after working (and not working) as an actress in Los Angeles for 5 years. I was drawn to the hard work and compassion required to be a nurse. In school, I realized that I wanted to focus on either women’s health or newborn care. Read more>>

Marcia Hoffheins

This was a huge moment for me. One that was truly unexpected. My yoga practice began in the corporate gym facility at America Online where I was an Executive. It was on my mat – that I decided to leave my very wonderful job and pursue – at the time – my passion of Interior Design. Read more>>

Sehrish Ali

Growing up, I was enthralled with watching crime documentaries (as all 8 year old’s are) such as 20/20, 60 minutes, and of course Law and Order. I always wondered and questioned what made others choose to do what they do, so much so that I would often resort to people watching of course this was an era before social media, memes and TikTok so perhaps it was a bit more acceptable. Read more>>

Vicky Khamvongsa

My name is Vicky, and my journey as a massage therapist began at the age of 22 when I landed my first job at a chiropractic office. Prior to finding my passion in massage therapy, I had explored various fields, switching majors about three times. Initially, I pursued auto mechanics, then kinesiology, and even dabbled in fashion marketing. However, it was during my experiences in these diverse fields that I discovered my genuine enjoyment of helping people. Read more>>