Stories are incredibly powerful – their ability to teach, inspire, and create understanding is why we are so in love with storytelling. Most stories have a defining moment and so we’ve asked some of the most talented, insightful folks across a broad range of industries and markets to tell us about a defining moment in their story.

Yamika Leeper-Stephens

My career path has many layers and defining moments that have led me to where I am today. Read more>>

April Brenneman

I curled up on the couch with a glass of red wine. Tears slid down my cheeks as I watched the slow movement of shadow cast by the setting sun creep across the living room. I was in a small Loma Linda apartment. My five year old son, mercifully asleep in a back room, occasionally whimpered with pain. Read more>>

Maria Valdes

From a very young age I really liked to take care of my skin, I was very curious, I always wanted to do some treatment and improve my routine to maintain radiant skin, but I didn’t see it as a job option, I was always making mistakes looking for my center, my passion for something, and in this search I let myself be carried away by the influence of people around me who convinced me to study other things where supposedly there were more job options and more money, but at the end the result was always the same… A great disappointment!! Read more>>

Elizabeth Welch

Here is a defining moment in my practice that set the trajectory to where my career path is headed now. Read more>>

Raven Dukes

The defining moment of my career is when I truly learn the power of manifestation. When I noticed that I can make my thoughts a reality everything changed.. my confidence my approach my everything. Having confidence in my cells allows me to have the ability to sell myself fully. Being confident in myself helps me bring out the confidence and others.. Read more>>

Eden Garcia-Balis M.S.,LMFT

A defining moment in my career was when I was working with the probation department, specifically with families whose youth were recently released from Juvenile Hall. Part of their requirements usually included participating in psychotherapy, but parents would often report that they could not find affordable therapy. In my pursuit to assist them, I found that they were right. Read more>>

Jeni Raitsin

Ever since I can remember, I believed that happiness was around the corner, and I was willing to work HARD to get it. But no matter how hard I worked or how much I achieved – it never felt enough. On the outside, everything looked great – by the time I was 30, I was an award-winning architect, leading a team in a great company and making good money… Nothing was “wrong;” everything was…fine. Read more>>

Alix Walker

When the pandemic hit, I was the owner of an international marketing and branding agency. For years, I had been working with female business owners and coaching them on their marketing, but when the world shut down, I spent my days talking to these women not about business and marketing ideas but about their fears, about being a mom and navigating these times as best as possible for their children. Essentially, I was talking them off the ledge. Read more>>

Wesley “WallStreet Wes” Robinson

A defining moment In my professional career was when I was looking to transition the mission of my poetry company (Great Minds Think Different ) into the direction of mental health. I had been searching and studying for months on how to enter the field only to feel like I was hitting brick wall after brick wall. Everyone kept telling me that I needed to go to school, but in my gut I felt that school couldn’t teach what I know. Read more>>

Thomas Graham

The defining moment that allowed me to choose my career was actually in the in between time between college and professional school. To give a little perspective, I will tell a little back story about how it is that I got to where I am at. I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, and due to the availability of work (because there’s NOT a whole lot going on in NH), construction was a common industry for people making money. Read more>>

Nycole Hutchens

My defining moment in my career came when I realized that my work in the esthetics industry never felt like a job. It was the moment I saw the genuine joy and gratitude on my first client’s face after receiving a skincare treatment, knowing that I had made a positive impact on their well-being. This experience inspired me to write my first book, dedicated to helping others in the esthetics industry, and that’s when I truly understood the profound sense of purpose and fulfillment that my career could bring. Read more>>

Melissa Allen

I was a premed student and working at a local chain gym at the time. I had been working with an elderly woman that could only afford 3 personal training sessions. Being raised by my Grandmother made me feel a personal obligation to make sure this sweet lady could continue getting stronger on her own, after her limited time with me. I would take extra precaution in creating an exercise plan that she could do on her own. Read more>>

Erica M. Bankston

The defining moment in my professional career came when I was emotionally at the lowest point in my adult life. For the first time ever, I sat across from another Social Worker, crying. I explained that I felt weak sitting in front of her, but I was finally ready to put those thoughts aside and ask for help. Read more>>

Cece Doucette

I’d spent eight years leading our school district’s education foundation at the time when the Ed Tech industry was pushing in the 21st Century Classroom. Our budgets were cut to the bone so along with other parents I jumped in and started doing fundraising for wireless infrastructure, iPads, Chromebooks, smartboards and more. Read more>>

Meredith Ruben Daniels

My childhood dream was to be a kindergarten teacher. I never wavered in this, and went on to earn my Bachelors and Masters in education, spending nine years in the classroom. I absolutely adored by students, but the Universe kept giving me signs from day one that this was not where I was supposed to be. Read more>>

Dee Rowe

Recently, I experienced what I believe to be a defining moment in my career as an empowerment coach. Read more>>

Becky Moore

When I was a young adult, I felt like there was something wrong with me. I was always wondering why I couldn’t manage life as easily as everyone else seemed to. Read more>>

Ido Grinberg

This is a story on how cacao has completely changed my life… Up until 3 years ago, I had a “normal” job and I lived a “normal” life. A life full of stress, daily anxieties, but with great income and in a very “safe” industry – Construction. Read more>>

Marie-Elizabeth Mali Mali

I’ve been a relationship coach for the past 8 years, and about year ago I started feeling like it was no longer aligned for me. Read more>>

Miguel Perez

After my son passed away in 2012 I found myself in the depths of a profound depression, which lead me to step away from my role at LA Fitness. Those years were transformative, marked by a pivotal moment of introspection. I stood at a crossroads, facing a choice that would define the trajectory of my life: to either continue on the path I had been walking or to honor my son’s memory by striving for a life that would make him proud. Read more>>

Lisa Asbell

I was 100 pounds overweight and I decided to radically change my life. I started sharing my journey in social media, it was life changing. I didn’t go viral. I just started posting daily and inspiring others to change their lifestlye! I started sharing practical tips that were helpful to me and it reasonated with other women. Read more>>

Danielle Shealy

Once upon a time, I was a young student midwife in the final stage of my apprenticeship. I had been called to a birth center that I was fortunate enough to be welcomed into during my time as a student. One of the midwives attending the birth had fallen ill. This birth center was an hour and 15 minutes away from where I lived. Read more>>

Dr. Nicole Woodard

I was working full time and what should have been a dream job and opportunity. I was working full time as a physical therapist in sports and orthopedics and I had created a 5.8 million dollar facility and plan for the most elite sports performance facility in our region. On the side I was running my own business working with professional Crossfit and Ironman athletes. Read more>>

Jacoby Kang

The defining moment in my professional career occurred when I experienced burnout as a software developer working for a startup. It was a time of personal and emotional turmoil, including a breakup with my girlfriend of four years and the additional stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation was further complicated by my inability to visit my dad and my grandma, who had been diagnosed with dementia, in Korea for four years due to the pandemic. Read more>>

Solunis Nicole Bay

I’ve had a few career changes. I began my 1st professional career as a classical-trained dancer. As much as I loved dancing, it wasn’t paying well enough to support my life. Transparently, there were many factors for this. I danced during the era when there were few opportunities for black dancers, and I didn’t have the financial or familial support to risk living an entire artistic life. Read more>>

LaShawnda Ausbon

My story is one of faith over fear, after finishing massage school I went to work for a local spa chain where I learned a lot and had opportunities to grown. A time came where I had to decide to stay comfortable or trust my gut and step out on faith and become my own boss which changed my life for the better. Read more>>

Deitra Baker

In my professional journey as a therapist specializing in the well-being of children, adolescents, and young adults, I can identify many defining moments. A pivotal moment in my career emerged when my son entered the entertainment industry. This transformative juncture was deeply personal and revealed significant gaps in the provision of mental health support for young people pursuing careers in the arts. Read more>>

Dr. Jasper Bartolome, DDS

A defining moment in my professional career was when Covid happened in 2020 at the time I was working at a local community health center. Our regular dental operations were interrupted due to the pandemic and it gave me time to re-connect to some of my own personal passions and re-evaluate my long-term professional goals. All this eventually led to my decision to open my own dental practice. Read more>>

Carm Pileggi

Working at as a child and youth care practitioner for 7 years, I had been afforded the incredible opportunities to work with hundreds of young individuals and in various sectors including schools and group homes. The pandemic, of course, brought on many challenges for mental health professionals and the clients served. I had worked frontline supporting the development of young individuals navigating various barriers from learning and mental health challenges to inaccessibly to services. Read more>>

Dr Adnan Saithna, MD. FAANA

A recent defining moment in my professional career was the receipt of the 2023 “Outstanding Physician Award” from the Maricopa County Medical Society (MCMS). It was a great honor to receive this award knowing that the level of competition was extremely high. I was especially pleased to receive this award because one of the missions of the society is to promote excellence in the quality of care and the health of the community, and that mirrors my own healthcare philosophy. Read more>>

Becca Ferguson

I didn’t know that I was going to work in the mental health industry. Actually, I had no idea that mental health existed until I was in college. I was raised in a very conservative, Christian environment where we did one of two things: 1. Pray about it. Read more>>

Jill Dooley

A defining moment for me was when I saw the profound benefits that a privately-owned dental office provides to its patients. With privately-owned dental offices, the treatment decisions are exclusively between you and your dentist only. Any procedure that your dentist suggests has a less external influence. This guarantees a more personalized and individualized experience. Read more>>