We asked some fantastic entrepreneurs and creatives to tell us about their first job in their field. Check out their stories below.

Luana Heidemann

The reason I became a Health and Wellness Coach is because I believe lifestyle is medicine. I worked in Healthcare for 13 years and saw how easy it is to prescribe medication for conditions that can be avoided, or improved, with your lifestyle. Read more>>

Candice Cartwright

My journey into the world of waxing was an unexpected and transformative one. At the time, I had just relocated to Florida and was working full time at a beauty salon. My initial exposure to waxing wasn’t as a practitioner, but as a client seeking services for myself. I decided to visit a local establishment in Melbourne called The Wax Chic, unknowingly stepping into a place that would alter the course of my career. Read more>>

Bianca Julien

So I’ve always wanted to be a massage therapist since high school. I didn’t get to pursue that professionally until the pandemic. I started school April 2021 and my program lasted until June 2022. Also during this time, I was introduced to martial arts classes. Read more>>

Carmen Skildum

When one becomes a personal trainer it’s not generally what people might think. You don’t pass the exam and magically just know everything there is to know. About training, about programming, about all the 100’s of different exercises and how to perform them properly, how the body adapts, client mindset, different body types, my gosh the list could go on! Read more>>

Lisa Reyes

I had just completed a Kundalini teacher training program. I was doing sound healing on the side. One of my friends from teacher training worked in the recovery world. One day she calls me up and says, “hey, we just lost our yoga teacher at this residential detox facility, do you want to take over this weekly class?” I said, “sure!” Read more>>

Tamara DeOrio

On a regular Wednesday back in July 2021, I picked up the kids from camp and ended up at a friend’s house. Little did I know that day would change everything. Read more>>

Nelda Hunt

My journey in the field began in 2016 when I worked at a local social services office in my community. At the age of twenty-seven, I had a truly humbling experience as an adoption petitions worker, where I interviewed and assessed prospective adoptive parents to understand their reasons for wanting to foster to adopt. The majority sadly acknowledged infertility challenges, but proudly shared their desire to be a parent through a different way. Read more>>

REBECCA BOUMSTEIN

I am a two-time teenage cancer survivor. I was diagnosed at age 16 and relapsed at 19. As a junior in high school, I underwent nine months of chemotherapy. At age 19, about to enter my sophomore year of college, I relapsed and needed surgery as well as another five months of chemotherapy. Read more>>

Chandler Stancliff

My story of getting my first job in the nonprofit world is probably a little different than most. Read more>>

Molly McIntyre

In 2013, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. As most do, I found myself settling in the restaurant industry in order to have time and flexibility for auditions and bookings. After 9 years of serving and bartending, I started getting burned out. My time in the restaurant industry was always supposed to be temporary, but that 10 year mark was slowly creeping up, and I knew I didn’t have another 10 years of this in me. Read more>>

Jacinta White

I fell into facilitating poetry writing workshops. I was working in a leadership position in Atlanta and attended a meeting that was held at a community center. Towards the end of that meeting, participants were led on a tour of the center. While on that tour the director was sharing the programs offered to you: sports, visual arts, etc. but he didn’t mention literary arts. Read more>>