We asked some of the brightest folks from within the community to reflect back on their days in school and to share with us a story of when they learned a particularly important or impactful lesson. We’ve shared highlights below.

Coco Le Van

I grew up an only child with a single mom until I was 15. We moved constantly—and since I didn’t have siblings, books were my only friends. One of my proudest nerdy accomplishments is that I read all 56 Nancy Drew books by the time I was 11. I’ve always loved reading and learning… but reading so much made me a free thinker who doesn’t do well under authority. Read more>>

Brian “Essince” Collins

I majored in Audio Production from Webster University in St. Louis, MO (class of 2009) and one of my favorite classes my senior year was called “The Evolution of Audio” taught by Professor Paul Stamler. This class was different in that we were not actually using equipment, studying electrical components, or sound theory. Read more>>

Darius Chambers

Consistency and Hard Work pays. I joke when I tell people that I don’t have the great voice or face for the job. But what I do have is personality and a drive to out work anyone. There people I worked with that people love their voice but sometimes that’s all the have so they become dependent on it and become one dimensional and they say with looks. Read more>>

Jesseca Sutherland

One of the most important lessons I learned in school was that you are only as strong as your weakest link. My highschool in particular strongly valued social and emotional learning just as much as academic learning, to the point where it was a part of our overall grade (which I’m so thankful for). Teamwork became a core part of our everyday lives, Read more>>