Every once in a while, something happens that really matters. Something that will define at least the next chapter of your journey – perhaps it’s a conversation with a client, a meeting with a visionary or a major event in your personal life. Below, you’ll find some very insightful folks sharing defining moments from their journeys.

P Fadwah Halaby

The defining moment for me in my career was when I made the conscious decision to get pregnant with my first child and forego my plans for Medical School. I had been preparing for Medical School, had taken the MCAT test and had applied to several schools. I was accepted for an interview in Indiana, but couldn’t imagine living there again (I grew up there and couldn’t wait to leave as a teen!). This ultimately sent me in the direction of Nursing School and Nurse-Midwifery. Read more>>

Christina Siepiela

I have two defining moments in my life that showed me the power of resilience, courage, perseverance and faith. The first was when I left Brazil, my home country, and moved to the United States in 2004, leaving my career as a Family Law Attorney and a College Professor to become a woman who believed in love at first sight. I moved to Dallas, Texas, to live with my boyfriend, at that time, who I had met 5 months earlier in Cancun, Mexico. I came to the US expecting nothing, but to live a life based on love, trust and risk-taking. It has now been 18 years with 2 kids together! Read more>>

Andrea Alorro

I have always felt passionate about healthcare and beauty -that’s what brought me to the field of plastic surgery nursing. A trajectory moment in my post operative career actually took place at a local surgical center, when what supposed to be a regular surgery pick almost turned tragic. I arrived as I usually do prepared to do a quick assessment on my patient prior to taking her home. As the patient was brought out to me I could see there was something seriously wrong. Read more>>

Danielle Turner, LCSW

The defining moment in my career was realizing that I needed to open my private mental health practice to serve those in my community where they could heal their inner child in a safe environment, where they could be heard, seen, validated and understood. See I have had my own mental health challenges and it was difficulty for me to find a therapist that I could relate to and feel safe. After working in child protection for over 15 years, Read more>>

Anthony Parham

I think one of the most defining moments in the trajectory of my career was when I began working with youths influenced by autism in Northern California. I had just finished my schooling so I actually did not think I would be able to support the kiddos I was working with, initially. I lacked confidence and the skills when I began the work and started training. The first day I was able to see youths, all of that changed. Read more>>

Rin Gamache

So I had two defining moments in my professional career. First, as an esthetician focusing on more of the dermatological side of esthetics for men. I found that facials, microdermabrasion and other modalities used in industry only got me so far with my clients. I could see that many of my acne patients had underlying issues that were the root cause of their skin condition or old acne scarring that required work outside of the scope of my license. I began an Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine program so that I could become a natural Dermatologist. Read more>>

Michelle Rhodes

Covid 19 gave me quite a few teachable moments, that cause me to pivot my Coaching business into Digital Media. I realized I officially switched from “passion to purpose” and I am all the better for it. Its ok to listen to your instinct. Read more>>

Kim Fry

One of my defining moments in my professional career as a licensed therapist actually came from an “aha!” moment in my own personal therapy. I wholeheartedly believe that every single therapist needs to be consistently seeking their own mental health support – just because we have degrees, doesn’t make us any less susceptible to being human. Like I say to my team at least once a month, we can only do as much work with our clients as we ourselves have done. Read more>>

Karineé Lopez

If there was a moment in my life that changed the trajectory of my career it would have to be when I became a mother. Prior, to having kids I worked at a hospital in NYC. I was involved in the programming world because my degree is in Computer Science. After having my kids, I found myself ,like many new moms, trying to figure out childcare and work. Becoming a mom showed me and opened me to the opportunity to become a teacher. It was the beginning of a big passion that I never knew I had. Read more>>

Keisha Wells

There will never be a more defining or meaningful date for me than April 14, 2007—the date I birthed my twin sons, Kyle and Kendrick, who were born prematurely at 23 weeks gestation. My precious sons lived for a brief but purposed and powerful time and because of their lifetimes, my life’s purpose is forever changed. This profound loss altered my identity, profession, and overall life. Read more>>

Veronica Williams

A defining moment in my professional career was when my Pastor wanted to establish small group studies throughout our community to help our partners improve their personal lives. The group study that she wanted me and my husband to lead was a Couples Group Study to help enhance and create healthy marriages. This was a difficult decision because it would require a weekly commitment to couples and it would require being transparent about my own marriage. Read more>>

Christina Pena

I had always struggled with trying to find time for God and my studies. This was a struggle all the way through medical school. When could I find the time to read the Bible for example, when I had huge text books to read and study for exams? Then one day in my medical school clinical rotations, a patient had a very difficult decision to make. She was pregnant with twins. She was only in her second trimester of pregnancy and one of the babies died in utero. She had a condition where the babies shared a placenta. Read more>>

Dominique Edomwande

Before I started working in the fitness industry, I worked as an Account Executive at Oracle. Fancy job title but I really did sales. I sold Database, Analytics, and Security in my Canadian territory. We were in the mist of Covid with a lot of my accounts filing for bankruptcy or even closing all together. Oracle did not care and started putting a lot of pressure on the sales team to get their numbers up. My manager at the time was no help and I felt the company wasn’t providing any support while we were working for home. Read more>>

Cindy Tsai, MD

Imagine waking up one day and not being able to see. This is what happened to me. To go from healthy to sick overnight was a total wake-up call. Ever since I was young, I have been health-conscious and wanted to become a physician to help others be healthy. However, when I got sick myself, I was forced to slow down and listen to my body. Our body has its own intelligence. We need to pay attention to these messages. Read more>>

Efrat Cohen

As educated and experienced professionals we tend to think we are knowledgeable and have all the solutions for our clients. We set goals, propose strategies, and implement solutions. If we are not successful with a client we tend to seek fault in the client and not our service or product. Several years ago I was introduced to a master in my profession. One of the most profound gems she shared with fellow attendees of her course was “don’t make your limitations the limitations of your client”. Read more>>