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.

Armoni Moody

A defining moment in my professional career happened just a few days ago actually. The moment wasn’t marked by winning an award or booking a big-ticket client. Read more>>

Kelly Williams

I have two defining moments. I got into the Health, Wellness, and Fitness Industry as a fun “side gig”. Teaching group fitness – AKA getting paid to workout – was fun and I enjoyed doing it as a “fun side gig”. Read more>>

Leigh-Anne LoPinto

My divorce was my defining moment in my career, as it propelled me to specialize in love, sex, and relationships. Read more>>

Felice Chan

The defining moment in my professional career was when I decided to take a 180 spin on medicine. I was always medicine inclined ever since I was a child. Read more>>

Lamarr Key

I moved to Houston after college to boost my career, and it was a game-changer. After months of job hunting, I got an interview at the Council on Recovery. Read more>>

Katie Burns

(Note- Family Preservation is my advocacy, not career) I felt cornered into placing my daughter for adoption when I was 19. That completely changed the trajectory of my life and came to define it. Read more>>

Erin MacDonald

A defining moment in my professional career was becoming a mother and moving to Los Angeles. My oldest son was born in May of 2018 and my family and I relocated to LA in December of that year. Read more>>

Dr Shawon Gullette

About 6 years ago, I encountered a significant moment in my career as a clinical trichologist that altered my business perspective. I was working with a patient who had struggled with severe hair loss and had consulted numerous medical professionals in and out of Ohio without finding a solution. Read more>>

Lindsay Martens

I knew at a relatively young age that I wanted to become a Naturopathic Doctor {around 14 years old} but it was while I was in Naturopathic school where my passion for women’s health really became solidified. Read more>>

DAYNI BAKER

After the birth of my daughter and finding myself at home with a newborn and experiencing how isolating it can be, I finally understood how hard motherhood can be. Read more>>

Rachel Prabhu

My defining moment is a little different in that it wasn’t an event in my career that led to a shift, but an event in my personal life. It didn’t all happen at once, but getting diagnosed with breast cancer led to a huge shift in how I saw myself in the world. Read more>>

Shawnee Benton Gibson

Sadly, the defining moment in my professional career was activated by the death of my eldest daughter, Shamony Makeba Gibson. Shamony was 30 years old and the mother of two children when she passed away 13 days after giving birth to my grandson. Read more>>

Nicole Martel

A significant defining moment in my life that affected the trajectory of my career was more in the beginning regarding my education choices. Read more>>

Dr Varil Williams

In the summer of 2015, I stood at the threshold of a new chapter in my life as I graduated with a doctoral degree. It was a moment I had worked tirelessly for, but it wasn’t just the culmination of years of academic pursuit; Read more>>

Monica Smith

Yes, that defining moment was during COVID when I was furloughed from my job at the time. While prior to this incident, I had considered potentially going out on my own one day. Read more>>

Maria Alvarez

The Turning Point: Between Dreams and Reality Arriving in the United States marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life, one filled with promise yet riddled with unexpected challenges. Read more>>

Diesta Goldsmith

It was the space shuttle that was about to lift off the pad. The announcer said, “All systems are Go!” I never thought in my life as a young African American girl that I would ever play a part in something so much bigger than life. Read more>>

Allison Hampton

I had been under doctor’s care for lupus for three or four years before some of my co-workers learned about my diagnosis. One of my co-workers remarked that she never would have guessed that I was living with any kind of diagnosis. Read more>>

Aubrey Phillips

During the final stretch of PA school, majority of the females wanted to specialize in aesthetics upon graduation. I was the opposite. Read more>>

Christine Chiu

Over the past 30+ years, owning my own pharmacy has been a rewarding journey, allowing me the privilege of connecting with thousands of patients through counseling. Read more>>

Dr. Ana’Neicia Williams

I believe I am currently walking in my defining moment in my professional career. We are conditioned early on to know what interests us and the career path we should take. Read more>>

Renita Pagan

When I think about a defining moment, I think about one of the first clients I housed while working in the shelter. The client was a Cuban man who had experienced chronic homelessness for over 30 years since entering the United States. Read more>>

Jen Jamē, M.Ed

Teacher burnout has led me to seriously considering leaving my teaching career more times than I can count. Thankfully, there have been numerous pivotal moments in my professional journey that altered my trajectory forever. Read more>>