Every once in a while we have the good fortune of working on a project that we feel truly matters, a project that we’ll still be thinking about years from now. Maybe even something we can imagine telling our grandkids about – surely you’ve had moments like that where something you did in your professional life really mattered?

JayT Russell

I have three. Working on The Equalizer and having my first on screen television scene with Queen Latifah was HUGE FOR ME. It has been a Christmas tradition of mine to watch Last Holiday with my parents every year. That movie with She and LL Cool J inspired me to want to become an actor. Read more>>

Lindsey Lerner

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is Field Notes from the Work (and the Wild). The seed for it was planted with my first company, Level Exchange. We were trying to flip the music industry by building fairer ways for local musicians to connect with venues, brands, and fans. Read more>>

Noy Marom

I’ve had many meaningful projects that I took part in throughout my career, but a recent one that I am very proud of is my role as princess Katherine in the production of Henry V at ATA. It was the first Shakespeare production I’ve done in a long time and many parts of the text were in French, which made it even more challenging. Read more>>

John LaBreche

While on the Southern California beaches virtually every weekend watching Molly and Mallory play competitive beach volleyball, the idea of a beach-based business was born. With Jake studying Finance/Accounting & Entrepreneurship at USC, I wanted him to get practical hands-on business experience. The result; BeachBum Sportz, an eco-friendly store that initially focused on upcycling retired volleyballs to make stylish one-of-a-kind apparel. Read more>>

Kevin Laurent

It was March 2024. I had just gone through one of the worst break ups ever while living in Pennsylvania. I was devastated, distraught, feeling all the feels. I moved out towards the end of the month and by April I was in New York. Read more>>

Tavia Rhodes

My debut album ‘HER SAY’ has been the most meaningful project I’ve worked on in my life. It is the culmination of over a decade of work. It has been a true labor of love and is a fulfillment of a promise I made to myself in my late 20’s when the desire emerged from deep within to write my own music. Read more>>

Sparshita Das

One of the main reasons I wanted to pursue design was to help make the world a better place—and not just from a human-centric perspective. I have always been interested in ideas of coexistence, and wanted to use design to help shape a world that values more than just human needs. Read more>>

Clara Kim

I recently launched my project ‘People and Places’, a program where I perform six solo violin compositions by contemporary composers. My hope is that the program not only showcases the composers’ musical voices, but also humanizes the person behind the pen by sharing a little bit about each of them – their story and their journey. Read more>>

Angelo Gingerelli

In 2023 I released my first comedy special/album titled ‘Stuck in the Middle.’ It’s about an hour long and contains all of the best material from my first decade in comedy with a underlying narrative about being stuck between the ‘normal’ world and the somewhat crazier world of stand-up comedy. Read more>>

Sergey Nesterov

Balancing between writing concert music and composing for media has always been a delicate, intriguing challenge. Concert music is experienced on its own terms, free from external narrative, while music for film or video games lives in harmony with the unfolding story it’s meant to support and amplify. Read more>>

Hazel He

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on recently is my graduation work, Memory Place. It is an interactive virtual experience where the audience can use a MIDI controller to navigate and explore a space that feels slightly surreal—glitchy, nostalgic, and emotional. Read more>>

Olivia Healey

The very first professional-level set I worked on was my own. I’d have to say that’s my proudest achievement to date… This was the set of my short film, ‘Breathe,’ which I wrote, produced, and starred in. ‘Breathe’ utilizes overstimulating audio and a metaphorical ‘White Room’ to throw the viewer into what it feels like to have a panic attack. Read more>>

Dhiren Dasu

The most professionally meaningful project I’ve worked on was with my frequent collaborator, Penny Slinger. We designed the set for the last Christian Dior Couture show at their fabled atelier on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s creative director, asked Penny to create the scenography for her “grand opera.” We visited the location in Paris and took extensive photographs of the building. Read more>>

RaeLynn Fleming

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is working with special needs families. My son was diagnosed with level 2 autism when he was turning 4, and while it was something I expected, it was still something I had to learn and process. Read more>>

Raquel Bustos

I am currently working on a project titled ‘Turning Nothing into Something,’ which very quickly became something super meaningful and personally impactful. The practice is rooted in the transformative act of alchemy, making the personal choice to work exclusively with found, discarded, or donated materials, embracing what others consider waste as the raw potential for beauty, utility, and meaning. Read more>>

Kristen Tordella-Williams

One of my most meaningful projects was my first large scale public artwork, the ‘Eudora Welty Wreath’ (2016). Read more>>

Ariel Esquivel

From the very beginning of my creative journey, I knew that art could be more than a personal expression it could be a vessel for connection, healing, and change. As an only child, I was often alone, but I learned early on to speak with clarity and confidence. Read more>>

One of the most recent meaningful projects I have just finished, was recording my first solo piano classical album, titled ‘Piano Works by Ernest Chausson’, on the Sheva Collection label. Ernest Chausson was a mid-19th century french composer, who had written a fairly small collection of solo piano works. Read more>>

Jose Pimienta

In February of this year my graphic novel “Halfway To Somewhere” came out. And I think it’s the most personal book I’ve ever written. It’s not autobiographical, but most of the events in that book came from personal experiences. Read more>>