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.

Sandie Soman

My most meaningful lesson in school wasn’t something I learned overnight. In fact it was something I learned relatively recently while eating a favorite dessert of mine; a Baklava. Read more>>

Renee Huset

As the owner of a small bakery, everything is down to me. The baking, decorating, presentation, grocery shopping, inventory, advertising, social media…all of it. And there is so much of it that I love, and a handful of tasks that I don’t. It’s in doing those tasks I enjoy less that I remember my experiences in college and graduate school. In short, I had to get comfortable being uncomfortable and to listen to my instincts. Read more>>

Vicki Diesing

It’s cliche but follow your passion, no matter where you are in life. In college I thought I wanted to be an international business woman. I majored in International Relations and minored in French. I didn’t quite have a plan on how to pursue that. It took having children and wanting to document their lives to realize my passion lay outside of the corporate world and more in the creative. I know I still have a little bit of that business woman in me though. I love the back end of my business just as much as the photography. I encourage my daughters to pursue their passions as much as they can. Read more>>

Erik Lomen

Learning to shoot film photography at a young age helped me understand why “pace” is so important in life. Growing up you are seeking approval and looking for it from all sorts of elders; parents, grandparents, older siblings, etc. But when these beings of importance begin to slip away you have to readjust your focus to find the detail that is driving you. This focal readjustment is central to mastering the modulation of pace. Read more>>