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.

Matthew Chang

Going into my freshman year of college at Texas A&M, I went to a camp for incoming freshman called Fish Camp. At the end of the camp, I remember one of the leaders left us with a piece of advice that has stuck with me for the past 4 years. “Never eat a meal alone.” Meals are special to the human race. Everyone has to eat at some point, and a shared meal allows you to get to know someone on a deeper level. Read more>>

Eartha Hopkins

I recently graduated from a UX/UI Design BootCamp through The Ohio State University. As a copywriter, I’ve interfaced with many designers and always enjoyed the collaboration. As tech continues becoming more and more part of the business ecosystem, I wanted to learn a new skill and gain insight into user experiences online. Read more>>

Corshia Alexander

An important lesson that I’ve learned in college was it’s okay to be friends with your friends friends. And don’t forget who your true friends are. Back in 2008 I was in college and my friend had another friend they hung out all the time. Times when they hung out I felt left out and she was taking my friend from me. Something hit me and said befriend her too and get to know her before I knew all three of us was hanging going to parties, lunch at the cafe and also out of town. Read more>>

Lena May

It is important to explore new cultures and learn a second language while you are in grade school. In Upstate New York, I started to learn Spanish as a second language in middle school. Our teachers required us to read, write and speak several times a week. There were times where students in my class weren’t interested in learning another language. By the time I finished middle school, I was ready to take a trip to a Spanish speaking country to practice. Read more>>

Maria Alejandra Hernandez

Sometimes I amaze myself with how I operate and decide everything I do; how could I be so aligned with my Alma Mater? Choosing a university was hard for me. My parents went to the same university(actually where they met), so for them and my sister, it was a pretty obvious decision, the same. Don’t get me wrong; it was a fantastic campus option, but not for me. Read more>>

Jenna Helling

While I was attending cosmetology school at Aveda Fredrics Institute in Indianapolis, I learned a lesson that I still follow to this day. That is, you only get out, what you put in. As in, if you put a little work in, you’ll only get a little experience out of school, or whatever you’re doing. I made sure that I was getting the absolute most out of school, and training to help me succeed. Read more>>

Jada Robinson

The most impactful lesson I learned in school was to never quit. Once you quit you are making the process of your goal longer. I hear so many people say I stopped going to school because things are going crazy in life. No matter what you do, life is going to be crazy. Read more>>

Hailey Sparks

In every schooling I went through, it was very clear to me that education is only what you make it to be. In the hair world you are constantly learning and cosmetology school is pretty much the basics. So I try to take advantage of all free classes that I feel with help me and I also try to teach what I feel I know to help others. Never stop learning, if you do you stop growing! This lesson has stuck with me because there are always new techniques and tools in hair that I love to learn about. Read more>>