Winning often looks like a long trail of losses that were too weak to keep you down. We are beyond inspired by the stories below. Resilience cannot capture the true nature of what so many of these entrepreneurs, artists and creatives possess and there is so much to learn from the folks highlighted below.

Aziz Olivine

A lot of my inspiration for my current work comes from my childhood and the feeling of being an alien in every space I was in. I’m Palestinian-American, so growing up caught between two contrasting cultures was confusing and exhausting. Like a lot of people in my generation, I used the internet as my refuge and was chronically online from childhood into my teen years. I learned that I could create online spaces where I could truly express myself, and ever since, I’ve been creating and sharing in the digital space. I started with a small business called Celadon Slimes, where I sold sensory products, but eventually, I wanted a more personal outlet for expression. So, I taught myself how to produce music, and I’ve been making music ever since. Read more>>

Camila Montoya

My name is Camila Montoya, founder and creative director of dFrancisco—a brand that transforms waste into cool, meaningful jewelry. My journey began long ago; I’ve always felt like a creative at heart. But for me, creativity isn’t just about self-expression—it’s a form of revolution. Read more>>

Chrissy Crawford Corredor

I’ve always had a passion for Art History—it’s a subject that resonated with me from an early age. Unfortunately, I don’t possess natural artistic talent, so I pursued the academic route to admire and study artists from a distance. In college, I majored in Art History, but after graduation, I realized I didn’t want to become a teacher or work in a museum. Instead, I discovered a love for sales, marketing, and learning about art. Read more>>

Cristina Damis

I still miss sliding a single shiny copper coin across Mrs. Cortez’s counter in exchange for a single piece of bubble gum wrapped like a present. A quaint candy store, although I think it was more of an honest-to-g00dness general store, but as I child I spied with my little eyes aisles of confectionary treats from my first step into my favorite hometown shop. My mother would let my brothers and I roam while she was next door keeping up with her curls at Constance’s Hair Salon. Our noses picked up the scent of lunch around the corner as the smell of melting cheese on beer battered crust at the pizza joint luring us out next door. Read more>>

Jennifer Chun

When the world was in lockdown during the pandemic I reconnected with my Korean heritage in a different way, after reading about Korea’s natural dyeing artisans. I had no idea Korea had their own tradition of natural dyeing techniques that predated even the formal unification of Korea. My mother was in pandemic lockdown in LA, and like so many senior citizens during that time, the isolation was incredibly lonely. I asked her to help me communicate with the natural dye artisan, since my Korean was limited. We eventually formed an online relationship with her, and she explained her back story. Her mother was also a natural dyer and taught her how to grow, cultivate, and process natural Korean resources to use as natural dyes. Read more>>

Deona Lizette

From a young age, I was always drawn to art, sketching everything from cartoons to people and nature. My mother recognized my passion and encouraged me to pursue it, but at the time, my focus was elsewhere. Throughout my secondary education, I was deeply involved in sports as well as performing arts, including acting, dance, singing, and instrumental classes. My schedule was packed, but no matter what, drawing was always a constant in my life. It was not until my third year of college that I made the decision to major in art and fully commit to it as a career. While in art school, I had moments of doubt, questioning whether I had chosen the right path. But I kept going, trusting in my passion and the vision I had for my future. Looking back, I know that pursuing art was the right choice, not just as a career but as a way of life. Read more>>

Jill Poyerd

It’s always amazing to look back on your life and see how the twists and turns lead to where you are today. When I look back at my childhood and remember my interest in art and being surrounded by fine art through my parent’s activities, I can see how it formed the basis of what I do today. Art wasn’t their primary interest or career, but my mother painted, they hosted national art workshops for a time, and they collected art. Fine art was always a part of our lives. In particular, it was my mother who first taught me to paint with oils and it was my mother who encouraged me to study watercolor painting after the birth of my son. Read more>>

Denis Maksimov

I’ve always been passionate about adventure and creating extraordinary experiences. Before Tiny Planet, my background was in the event industry, where I built stages—an entirely different world from van conversions. Sofia, my wife and co-founder, studied design in Rome, Italy. We combined our skills and set our sights on the ultimate dream: crafting luxurious, off-road vans that bring a five-star feeling to the great outdoors. Read more>>

Rachael Brown

Like many Americans, I’d been diagnosed with high cholesterol in my late 20s. In my mid-30’s my 5-year old nephew was diagnosed with cancer and his mom, who was in nursing school at the time, was asked by a professor if she’d looked at the role of nutrition in cancer. Through his diagnosis and their subsequent dietary changes, I discovered The China Study and started exploring the science of nutrition. After eating whole food, plant-based, no oil for just 17 days, my cholesterol dropped 50 points which lead me to want to learn more and to earn my plant-based nutrition certificate and food and sustainability certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and Cornell. Read more>>

Áurea María Altamirano Cuaresma

I was born in Lima, Peru in 1983. I studied elementary and high school in the public schools; Los Reyes Rojos and Sagrado Corazón in my district, Chorrillos. I was a child with a passion for creating and expressing visual and written art. Perhaps not long ago, I could not see a clear direction of my path, but at this moment with this interview, I am completing a more complete figure, my own map, my quipu of life. Read more>>

Katrina Purcell

My career journey began in media, working as a Quality Control Technician at Discovery Channel. However, I soon realized that my passion lay in live news, leading me to pursue opportunities in New York City at Bloomberg News. Over time, I transitioned into project and program management within media technology, where I thrived in leading complex projects and driving innovation. Recognizing the evolving media landscape and the increasing importance of digital technologies, I pursued an MBA from Columbia Business School to further enhance my business acumen. Read more>>   

Duane Gutierrez

My story is about 3 decades in the making so i’ll condense it for you. I was born in Brooklyn, NY and yes I’m a kings county hospital baby. I lived in Brooklyn until I was a teenager and then moved to another country. When I had just turned fifteen my mom moved us to Belize, Central America. Literally the day after my fifteenth birthday I was on a one way flight. I lived in Belize until I turned eighteen and during my time there I had to adapt to the culture, lifestyle, and dialect. I feel that moving to Belize was the best decision my mother ever made because I fell in love with my country. Belize is a paradise and as much as I am proud to be from Brooklyn you can’t tell me I’m not from Belize. Fast forward to 2024 where I’ve stepped up to a role as the Director of the NYC Belize Parkfest. Read more>>

Shayna Grajo

I am a health and wellness copywriter with a background as a former journalist, licensed massage therapist, and university instructor of massage therapy and yoga. I love to create matchmaking messaging that converts dream audiences for creative, passionate entrepreneurs. Read more>>

Jeffrey Byrd

I was a professional photographer in 2014. At that time I was posting photos on Facebook and other places online.
A friend who attended K-12 with me saw my photos and writings online and asked to interview me on the TV show she was doing then.
The show was postponed, due to a medical illness with the staff and we ended up around her kitchen table telling each other our stories since we had last seen each other many years before. Read more>>

Kady Ibrahim Traoré

It all started with the Kardashian family, I look at their lifestyle, their style their beauty their way of dressing based on age at the age of 12. Until now I watch the incredible Kardashian family one day I put myself on Instagram I had no clothes from Kim or Kylie, nor Kylie or Chloe I don’t want money like them, I didn’t live in the United States as I lived especially in Africa in Mali in Bamako I create clothes, I didn’t have a wig I had, I had nothing, I tried their style, I posted, I posted regularly, I copy to their post the photo their way and everything and I managed to win a few people who subject me. Continue I continued over the years, I look at another person who knows, I said Wesh the photo, Read more>>

Kiana Parsons

I was a public school kid, attending Whitney M. Young High School; the same high school as Michelle Obama! If you’re from Chicago, you know that two things are inevitable: we’ll remind you that we’re from here, and we’ll tell you where we went to high school. It’s such a formative part of who we are. Read more>>

Cathleen Dower

I started dancing at the age of five and like most American girls I took classes in ballet, tap, and jazz, but it wasn’t until I saw Riverdance on Broadway a few years later that a fire was lit inside me. From the moment the curtains closed I knew I wanted to learn this style of dance which originated in Ireland and where my family originally hailed from. Luckily for me and as fate would have it, my Grandmother found my former Irish dance teacher who had immigrated from Ireland herself and was now teaching at the local Irish American social club in my neighborhood. Read more>>

Ana Milena Rojas

Ana Milena Rojas is a dynamic and multifaceted creative, seamlessly integrating her roles as an art director, production designer, and artist. Born in Bogotá, Colombia, she moved to the United States at the age of 13, carrying with her a deep-rooted artistic sensibility cultivated in her formative years. Read more>>

Chris

I started around 3 years ago. I was preparing to start my own clothing brand. When I was getting ready to drop my first product, I was introduced to a friend that was going to help me capture all photos for my products and lifestyle shoots. As he helped me navigate that process, I also was learning about photography. Not only did I want to begin to become efficient with my photography for the sake of my clothing brand, but I also began to really enjoy the process. I started to understand what it felt like to capture a product. From there, I started learning what it felt like to capture a moment. I began to apply that skillset to things that I was interested in like outfits and fitted hats. Read more>>

Ciara Lewis

During my middle school years, I discovered my passion for writing and enjoyed every moment of it. The ability to immerse myself in my thoughts and see them take shape on paper was exhilarating. I began with short stories and later expanded into poetry. Read more>>

Danilo Villanueva Jr

For 15+ years, I’ve been in the creative advertising industry building campaigns in multinational agencies like BBDO, TBWA, Leo Burnett and Saatchi for brands like BMW, Mercedes, Emirates Airlines, VISA, General Motors and others. In 2017 I took a year long sabbatical to build my own brand called MAKINA. It is a watch brand. I’ve always been a watch enthusiast and so it made perfect sense to me that if I were to build a company it would be about watches. We launched it with the two models on day one and now, after 7 years, we have built 30+ models in total including several variants. We started out as a B2C company but now B2B as well, designing and building watches for several organizations, brands and companies since 2024. Read more>>

Isabel Varela

I have always been a visionary: a creator to the core, and an entrepreneur at heart. My journey, which spans from the glamour of the fashion world to the depths of personal transformation, is one of resilience, growth, and the relentless pursuit of purpose.

But my path hasn’t always been easy. My story is one of overcoming obstacles, redefining success, and finding deeper fulfillment. That’s led me to today, where I help other women who are feeling overwhelmed by the clutter of their lives—whether mental, emotional, or physical—break free from the past and create a life and business rooted in alignment and purpose. Read more>>

Debra Ruh

II started my professional journey in the banking industry, but my life took a significant turn when I became a mother to Sara, who has Down syndrome. Raising her opened my eyes to the deep gaps in accessibility and inclusion, which sparked my shift towards advocacy. Alongside my professional work, my personal life has been deeply shaped by the challenges I faced caring for my late husband, Ed. He survived a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after being hit by a drunk driver as a child, and later developed early-onset dementia. Sadly, he passed away in 2022. His journey taught me firsthand about resilience and the importance of creating systems that support people with disabilities, and I’ve carried that knowledge into my advocacy work. Read more>>

Heather Squicciarini

For most of my life, I lived in the shadows of my own self-doubt. I carried the weight of co-dependency, unworthiness, and the belief that I was never enough. I compared myself to others, always coming up short, and ultimately lost trust in myself. It took years for me to recognize how these patterns controlled my life and kept me small. But now, I stand in a place of awareness, healing, and strength—and I want to share my journey with you. Read more>>

Carlene Griffith

In 2010, with my oldest son about to finish his first year of kindergarten, two other little ones underfoot, and a husband who traveled for work, I foresaw a brutally hot, lonely summer trying to fill the days with low-cost activities to keep the kids busy and me sane. I had made enough friends through school, the neighborhood, and church that I could find kids for mine to play with. But I didn’t want to do playdates or trade babysitting as I had done before. I wanted to do something that gave me a sense of purpose, too. Read more>>

Fatou Sow

First my aunt gave me an idea to start a business. I started it but wasn’t consistent. 3 years later, I started my hair business with the support of my parents. My mom gave me the initial funds to buy my first wig, which helped me take the first step toward launching my business. Later, my dad provided additional financial support, allowing me to expand and invest more in myself and my business. Since then, I’ve continued to reinvest in my growth, both personally and professionally, and have built my business from the ground up. Read more>>

Brynn Snyder

Entrepreneurship has been in my blood since I was 13 when I co-founded a bounce house company in Lethbridge, Canada, alongside my siblings. That early venture sparked a passion for business that has stayed with me to this day.

After earning a PFA in Product Design from Brigham Young University, I had the opportunity to work with industry leaders like Johnson & Johnson, Wadsworth Design, and Die Cuts with a View. Today, I am proud to be the Co-Founder and CEO of Slate Electric Flosser, a company born from my husband’s innovative invention—a tool designed to make flossing fun, easy, and incredibly effective. Read more>>

Elizabeth Barlow

My late father, Philip Barlow, was a noted artist and he was my first inspiration and teacher. My mother is a passionate gardener and our family home was surrounded by her beautiful garden. However, it wasn’t until recently that these two influences fused together in my art. Read more>>

Carol Jameson

Today, I’m writing and teaching, both of which I’ve been doing for a long time. I think the difference is that my writing has taken on greater depth and meaning since my novel, Adam and Leonora, was published last summer, 2024. Because of this, I’ve done author interviews (live and written), readings at local bookstores, and currently am making the rounds to book clubs. This last activity is very exciting for me. I’m really looking forward to talking with groups who have read my novel and have questions and comments about it. I’m doing the first one locally, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, but see no reason why I can’t expand this to other areas of the country or even internationally via video conferencing. Read more>>

Jenna Dominello

Amy and I (Jenna) have a podcast called Bonded by Bravo that we started in early 2023. It really started out of a genuine love for Bravo and recognizing it as a way to stay in contact over the years as we live across the country from one another. After a year of recording an episode a week, we made the decision to hire a freelancer to help with our socials. Soon after, maybe a month or so, a producer with Hurrdat Media reached out to us after seeing one of our video reels asking if we would be interested in joining a media group. One month later we signed our contracts and have been grinding it out ever since. Read more>>

Jamie Hiurt

My journey into founding InstaRyze Digital Marketing was a result of unexpected turns, bold decisions, and plenty of learning along the way.

I started in corporate and agency copywriting, helping brands refine their messaging and connect with their audiences. It was fast-paced and strategic, and I saw firsthand how great content fuels business growth. Then, like many others, the pandemic changed everything—I faced four layoffs and found myself at a crossroads. Read more>>

BillZ BondZ

I started off rapping back in 2004ish. A few friends of mine got into a “rap beef” with another student on campus at my high school, Pine Forge Academy in Pine Forge, Pennsylvania. I heard the lyrics this dude was working with and decided I could write better than that. As my first song, I wrote a diss that I ended up performing for a visiting school and his bars didn’t inspire much from the crowd. Mine, however, had them going wild and I won via crowd decision. The rest is history Read more>>

Kelly Wong

I have been involved in the field of science and education for nine years, going on for ten years now. I was a science teacher for six years, starting from the age of sixteen until twenty two when I decided to pursue science research full-time. While being a science teacher, I was also pursuing science research on the side, starting at the age of 16 to this current day. At the time I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket in case I wanted to switch careers at any point since I loved both. But at the same time, it was hard because it tripled or even quadrupled my workload. The biggest challenge was knowing that no matter how hard my personal life was, no matter what events were going on in my personal life, I still put a smile on my face, got in front of people, and shared my knowledge of science. Read more>>

Brihem Johnson

My name is Brihem Johnson, and I’m a 30-year-old South Philadelphia native. I’ve always been told that God gave me sight, and looking back, I believe that to be true. I’m a father, a recent master’s graduate in digital marketing, and a businessman, but my journey into photography and digital media started unexpectedly. Read more>>

Jill Harris

After graduating from UC Davis, I thought I wanted a career in PR and fashion. But once I was in those roles, I realized they didn’t inspire me. Around the same time, I was dancing a lot—taking classes, teaching, and performing, and that’s what truly energized me. Read more>>

Mark Esric

I started my brand when the pandemic hit in 2020.
I always wanted to create a fashion brand but did not have the time or the means. The pandemic was a gift and a curse for many people. The isolation allowed me to concentrate on what I really lilliamwanted to do. Read more>>

Maria Kazikhanov

The first photograph I ever truly cared about was not one I took, but one I saw. I was nineteen, working in a magazine office where the pages arrived in spreads, fresh from the hands of photographers across the world. There was one image—a woman, her face half-lit, half-lost in shadow. She was neither posing nor unguarded, caught in a moment that felt stolen. It unsettled me. It stayed with me. Read more>>

Ryan Viera

I’ve been making music since I was probably 10 years old. I started out as a drummer, and that carried me throughout high school and various bands. Around that time, I wanted to learn guitar, so I just taught myself chords by learning my favorite songs. From there I got interested in writing, then producing, and now here we are. Read more>>

Paras Juneja

From the moment I discovered my passion for design and motion, I knew I wanted to create work that not only looked good but made people feel something. I started by earning a Bachelor of Science in Animation and Multimedia from BIT Mesra. Determined to push my creative boundaries, I pursued a Master’s in Advertising from Miami Ad School Germany. That decision opened up a world of international opportunities, allowing me to collaborate with global brands. One of my earliest milestones was working with Elephant on the launch of NBC Peacock and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where I created user inface animations and transformed raw footage into engaging motion graphics for Team USA’s athlete introductions. Read more>>

Sasha Reist

I started dancing before I knew how to walk. I don’t ever remembering deciding to dance- it was always inherent. I took ballet and tap starting at the age of two and at the age of seven, I realized that I wanted to take dance more seriously than the kids around me. In second grade, I auditioned and got into The Ailey School and trained there until I graduated high school. I then attended the University of Arizona where I got a BFA in Dance and BA in Film & Television. After college, I’ve been doing my best to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way. Through choosing to put effort in the things that interest me, my career has taken me in many exciting directions. Read more>>

Lindsay Ross

So I grew up in Midwest, Ohio! Not even in the cities that people list off when they think of Ohio. I grew up in the country, middle of nowhere. It’s very secluded and the world is very small there! I will say one of the things I did gain from growing up there is this idea of community and relying on each other. Aside from blue collar work, sports and FFA there’s not a lot of arts. There are a lot of churches, but my exposure to the arts came from my grandparents, the teachers in my life, libraries, and a plethora of field trips. Read more>>

Joenne Dumitrascu

I trained as a classical musician from a young age, I started playing violin and piano as a kid, and also attended theater programs. So I’ve always had a love for music and theater/film. After precollege training, I went through the academic system, starting with an undergrad from the RCM, then attended Berklee College in Boston for grad school. In between I also attended other short-term programs. I always say that there is no such thing as learning too much. So, parallel to already being a fully working musician, I decided to pursue a doctorate degree. Of course I wanted to train with the esteemed, nine-time Grammy winning Emerson String Quartet so that narrowed down the universities I was applying to, but I also wanted to expand my academic studies. Read more>>

Jenn Wint

I’ve always been drawn to writing, storytelling and connecting with people, which made public relations a natural fit for me. I began my PR career in Sydney Australia in real estate and have since worked in London and now in Vancouver where my passion for supporting entrepeneurs and small businesses has grown stronger. My career has taken me through various industries, but at its core, my work has always been about giving brands and individuals meaningful platforms to tell their stories and connect with their audiences. Read more>>

Tori Diaz

We started with just writing down visions and ideas in August 2022, we used our own monetary means and got started on our journey of health, mental wellness despite domestic violence and human trafficking today 2025? We celebrating 3 years in helping women be the best version of themselves. We have personalized services and our wellness plans meet any budget. Read more>>

Dan Gober

Ever since I was young my imagination was a very strong presence in my life. Once I found music things clicked for me, turning images in my mind into sound. As I’ve discussed in previous interviews, I began in a punk rock scene and it was fantastic times to be a creative! Growing up you just formed bands with your friends and played whatever instrument that particular group needed. Musical abilities weren’t as important as having fun, making noise and just creating something with your mates that meant something. I believe the punk rock community was, and still is, very strong supporters of each other. Read more>>

Shannon Thompson

I painted as a kid and took art as electives in middle school, high school, and college. It was just something fun that I enjoyed doing and learning about. It wasn’t until I had my daughter Sophia, 7, that I began to really delve into it more. I started to share my work on social media and people began to ask for commissions. I stopped briefly when my relationship with my daughter’s father ended. She was around 17 months. I became a single mom. I began to work and focus on taking care of myself and Sophia. It was actually a very liberating time in my life. I began to rediscover myself and what I like. Read more>>

SHAY BACHELDER

I started preparing tax returns in 2004 and opened my own business in 2008. While my kids were little, I kept a small clientele, mostly friends and family, while still going to work for local tax offices seasonally to gain experience and have comradery with others in the industry. In 2013 I obtained my Enrolled Agent certification with the IRS so that I could represent clients during audits and help taxpayers negotiate the collections process. In 2021, after the pandemic, I made the decision to devote 100% of my time to my own business and I have loved watching my small business grow and evolve. I now offer tax preparation services including catch up work, tax planning, tax advisory services, as well as audit representation and collection negotiations with the IRS. Read more>>

Thomas Halle

I’ve been writing stories my whole! But it wasn’t until I went to college that I started taking it more seriously.
It was having a hard time finding my place in the world, I didn’t what profession I wanted to pursue. Truth be told, I didn’t know much about myself. I knew that I loved films. I gave it a shot and never looked back since. Read more>>

Ashley Chang

I started Sundays about two years ago now. We are an executive assistant service for working parents. We help parents get more focus time back at work and more quality time back at home.

Before this, I worked in the tech industry for a little over a decade. While I was there, I saw many of the smartest people I know struggle after they had kids because there wasn’t support for them balancing family and work. I felt this in my own life with my mom, who was a computer scientist in the 80s and then when she had us, felt like she really had to choose between family and work. Read more>>

Warith Jumuah

Passionate Rebel was established in 2014. We began utilizing fashion to spread our message of being a Passionate Rebel. As we achieved success, we implemented the educational piece that showed students the best practices for tapping into their inner Passionate Rebel. Our success throughout the years has been based on true faith/strong work ethic. We’ve been able to maintain consistency by doing future planning for clothing designs, community engagement, and building a stronger foundation! Read more>>

Miguel Jose Matos

Born in London England and raised in the island of Puerto Rico i was exposed to a multicultural and diverse community full of colors and magical anecdotal towns with starlike characters that spiced life with metaphors and allegorical realities. Always exposed to art, music and suffered the luck of attending and suffering a Jesuit education. Arriving in the USA to attend college in Boston, my first venture in to the cultural lifestyle of the Northeast. The vagaries and contradictions I stumbled on were many with sharp edges and dull moments that sharpened a sense of mission and purpose. Read more>>

Sally Im

I don’t know where to begin in my story. There’s just too much. My story starts with my parents. They escaped two war torn countries with a bunch of kids in tow, eventually landing in the South Bronx in 1970’s. My mother had a rough life, to say the least. Read more>>

Kim Carey

After a life changing visit to a silent retreat in 2016 I began my YouTube channel Intuitiview and began to share
predictions and spiritual insights. Since then I have been providing spiritual classes, mentoring and personal readings and
training to help others get in touch and use their own spiritual intuitivie abilities. Read more>>

Brandon Surtain

Much of my work over the past few years has been influenced by my experience in New Orleans, pre and post Hurricane Katrina. At the time of the storm, I was 11 years old and didn’t understand the magnitude of what was happening. However, over the years I began to observe a shift in the community that I’d once known. Read more>>

Cameron Darwin Bossert

One week in middle school I walked around with a cardboard cutout of a TV screen. The TV network was CDB which was just my initials but changed to mean “Comedy, Drama, Box Office.” I turned the cardboard around and gave my friends TV shows they would perform every day, either going around interviewing people like the news, or making up characters and stories. Read more>>

Bridgette Washington

At the tender age of ten, I took a high interest in hairstyling. I had always taken pride in creating with my hands from drawings to even my penmanship during that time as a lefty. The more I visited various salons and watching my mom do hair and get hers done, the more my interest grew. I began collecting my guinea pigs in the low income housing area we lived in at the time which started with the young school aged girls m whose mothers couldn’t afford to get their hair done professionally. I went from that to assisting in various salons which enabled me to learn a lot and get hands on training prior to attending school and acquiring my license. I then worked as a stylist in various salons and then acquired my own about 15 years ago. Read more>>

Caren Cooper

I did what I as told to do- go to college and get a job. I worked in the advertising industry for 29 years. And many parts of it was great! we worked hard and played hard. I did also get lots of perks. Even met my ex husband working in the industry!! But when I got pregnant with my first child things changed for me. I no longer wanted to climb the corporate ladder. I wanted something different. Deep down I wanted to be home- but couldn’t for financial reasons and honestly also worried about judgement from others. And so I became a working mom and wore the title as a badge of honor. Read more>>

August Broos

I started to work during my last two high school years and continued to do so during my time at university. I always had high work ethic and very good skills of time management. Up until a point I couldn’t find strength to pull myself out of bed in the morning. At this point I was working full-time, managed to finish my Bachelor Theiss in only five semesters, moved to another city and started to do that all over again. I even managed to hustle through the four semesters of my Masters while working full time “on the side”. During a writing session on my thesis paper, I listened to the song: Slide Away by Miley Cyrus. I didn’t feel like myself anymore. And you could tell by my look. I was suffering from a burn out and I needed to act quickly. Read more>>

Alison Pandora

To be fully transparent, I’m not 100% sure how my story starts. I believe I was born in Jersey City to a young woman 21 years of age. A woman who already had two small children of her own. A woman who decided to put her child, Alison Pandora, up for adoption. Read more>>