Working on something meaningful is a common desire – but how? We started asking folks to share the story of how they ended up working on a project they felt was meaningful because we wanted inspiration but also because we wondered if hearing from people from across a range of industries would help us identify patterns making it more likely for anyone to be able to find and work on projects that they would find meaningful.

Lana Schwartz

I run a theater company called Nxt Generation Theatrics (NGT), which I started when I was 14, in order to give young artists more opportunities in the theater industry. So much of growing up is figuring out what career you want to pursue, however, there aren’t many professional opportunities for young adults to pursue theater behind the scenes. I had so many friends who were interested in scenic design, lighting design, directing, choreography, etc., so I wanted to create a space for young artists to come together and create a professional-level show. Read more>>

Kitt Wakeley

I’ve been blessed with various projects over the years. Each one seems to yield a new benchmark in my career. My first big orchestral rock album was “Midnight in Macedonia”, which was recorded with the Macedonian Orchestra and Choir. This project opened a lot of doors for my career including sold out performances in major venues. The next album “Symphony of Sinners & Saints” was recorded with the London Symphony at Abbey Road Studios. It also included several famous guitarists such as Joe Satriani, Nuno Bettencourt, Nita Strauss, Orianthi, and others. Read more>>

Kristen Avolio

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve undertaken is building my business, HeartWork by Kristen Avolio. Art has always been a central part of my life, a passion ignited in high school. While not my college major, I immersed myself in studio art courses, eventually minoring in the subject. Even after life detours, my love for art remained steadfast. Read more>>

John Gloria

In 2012, with no prior writing experience, I wrote a 30 page short film on Microsoft word called “Station Zero”. An actress friend, Jules Bruff, had just finished shooting a feature film she’d written and read it. Her first response was: “Johnny, you can write”! She introduced me to her cinematographer, Justin Duval, with whom I bonded over a shared love of sci-fi, particularly the Twilight Zone. Because I had written my short film in that vein, we agreed to film it with no expectations in mind. Read more>>

Millicent Garland

I was hired by a local non-profit organization called Artsbuild to photograph elementary school students on various art-inspired field trips. The project was called Imagine! and was comprised of field trips to various symphonies, plays, art galleries, and museums. Most of the students attended schools located in disadvantaged areas of the community. It was so gratifying to witness and to photograph the wonder in the eyes of the children as they experienced performances such as the Nutcracker ballet, Alladin!, and the full Chattanooga Orchestra, knowing that most of them would not be able to attend events like this without the support of the Artsbuild Imagine! program. It was such an honor to photograph these events. Read more>>

Rey Castillo

Local Music Experience has been an incredible journey! Our vision is to breakthrough the current Music industry with our very own Local Raw Talent. LME’s mission is to bring both fans and bands together through the power of radio! We have single handedly built a one stop shop for bands to submit their music to be aired to our growing audience with the like mindedness to decide whom we like to see rise to the top and take back the industry for the people who are passionate about Local Music! Read more>>

Ben Kurzrock

Recently, my comedy team Probably A Cult finished our first feature length film, directed by my creative partner Griffin Davis. The film is a rock-mockumentary called “Counting In”, exploring the life and current whereabouts of rock-n-roll’s mysterious legend Steve Staccato, the world’s greatest at counting to four before any song begins. We originally dove into the project as a short film, then stumbled into it being feature length when we discovered how many more characters and angles we wanted to develop. Read more>>

Patrick Hinds

In 2022, I fulfilled one of my biggest theater kid fantasies by having True Crime Obsessed performed live on Broadway. We were the first podcast to ever do it. It was in the Hayes Theater – at the time Second Stage Theatre’s Take Me Out revival was set up there, but they didn’t have performances on Monday evenings, so they let us use the space. It was incredible. Our original performance was set for April of 2020, but then the pandemic hit. Read more>>

Laura Preble

I’ve published six books now, and probably the most meaningful to me was a young adult novel titled OUT, which was published in 2013. It’s a speculative fiction book where the majority of people in the world are what we’d call gay and the minority are what we’d call straight. I called them Parallels ( gay) and Perpendiculars( straight). Read more>>

Em Wright

The most meaningful project I have worked on is my life’s work focusing on spiders and insects. While I consider myself a wildlife photographer and have a love for documenting any species, I always try to make time to continue my work involving spiders. Growing up in the rural area of Northern San Diego County, I was surrounded by all kinds of wildlife. I was always seen picking up rocks looking for different beetles or holding the daddy long legs that would make webs in the corner of my room. Read more>>

Marlena Banks

My first book, Big Idea Food: A Weekly Devotional for Entrepreneurs, Side Hustlers & Dreamers was an extremely meaningful project for me. For almost a decade prior to its release, I had so much passion in my heart about pursuing my dreams and encouraging others to do the same. In many ways, I channeled that passion into my work as a graphic designer building identities for startup brands. But, my design work alone wasn’t quite capturing the entirety of my passion and my heart was still seeking for ways to express it. Read more>>

Angelina David

Ever since I was a kid, my favorite movie has always been The Sound of Music. I remember watching it on repeat as a kid and it will always have a very special place in my heart. At the beginning of my senior year of high school, I saw that a local theater was putting on The Sound of Music and I knew I just had to audition. Liesl von Trapp has always been a dream role of mine (I could truly play that role over and over again forever) and I was blessed to get the role! I was ecstatic. Read more>>

Konstantina Mantelos

I’ll have to be careful what I say about this because the project hasn’t been officially announced yet! But I recently had the privilege of playing the lead in an incredible horror film from an up-and-coming female horror director. Working on the film was absolutely the most rewarding experience of my career thus far. It wasn’t just the role itself, or the story, but also the experience on set, how the opportunity came about and when it happened in my life. Read more>>

Susanne McDonald

I’ve worked on several meaningful projects including creating my own short film that was inspired by the suicide of my favorite family member, it was the way I needed to process my grieve. My short film is called “Trivial Pursuits” and I was the writer, producer, and a lead actor on the project. So far we’ve been accepted into two film festivals but it was more about the journey of creating. I want to share this story with others who may also be struggling. Read more>>

Kamal X

My most meaningful project to date has been creating my 2nd photography book, BLACK ASTRONAUT. When Covid-19 made its way to the U.S. in February of 2020, we had no idea what we would have to face as a country. A worldwide pandemic quickly became the backdrop to a civil uprising. As we watched George Floyd’s life stolen, one gasp of breath at a time, I found myself at a life-defining crossroads. My fear of Covid-19 was debilitating, yet I felt an innate need to document this momentous time in our history. Read more>>

Jacqueline Murphy

When I reflect on the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on, two stand out to me: “The Admired” and “Yellowbird.” “The Admired” was a true labor of love inspired by my love of the golden days of Hollywood. I used my acting experiences on set with incredible directors like Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, and Woody Allen. I put my heart and soul into creating, producing, directing, and starring in this film. The journey was challenging but deeply rewarding. Read more>>

Steve Scribner

We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a majority of our projects and clients align with our mission and values, which makes much of our work meaningful and rewarding. One project we’d like to spotlight is the Bluff Lake Nature Center, which embodies so many of our favorite things: they are a mission-driven organization dedicated to furthering equity in outdoor access, conserving an important urban natural ecosystem, and educating individuals of all ages. Read more>>

Hari Iyer

Currently, I am trying to finish my first feature film called LOTUS. It is my final thesis project for the New York Film Academy. Originally, it was supposed to be a short film, perhaps only 25 minutes long. But after shooting and editing, we found ourselves with a 70 minute feature film. Don’t know how that happened but I am extremely proud of it for many reasons. Read more>>

Kuei-Pi LI

Banana Coin is one of the important art projects in my professional life. Banana Coin is talking about the crop in the colonies in before and the influence until today, especial banana. Through a Japanese invasion money in Malaya in World War Ⅱ which printed in the bank in Taiwan. Due to there is a bunch banana on the front, people call this money “Banana money.” In the end of World War Ⅱ, the money without prudent management system cause inflation and become synonymous of valueless. Read more>>

Richie Abelia

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some really amazing people, but I’m most known for my tenure with Watchout! There’s Ghosts. It was a blessing to have worked with my mentor and friend, Jordan Blake. Without him I wouldn’t have met the most amazing and supportive people within the music scene. I met Jordan 10 years ago while going out with some friends. Read more>>

Jonathan Molo

I have been working with the special needs community for more than 10 years. In the beginning of taking my magic professionally I offered my services to different charities and non profits. One day a non profit specializing in events for special needs asked me to share magic at one of their events. It was a career changing event because I found one of my meant purposes for my magic. 10 years later I am still sharing my magic with the special needs community. Read more>>

Tim Meegan Jr.

As a musician, success is often a very subjective term. My idea of success is different from others and vice versa. Last December I had a premonition that I wanted to record an album in Memphis. My band and I traveled to Memphis in February and spent a week recording, which will be our debut album as a band. If it’s the only time I ever do it, it was very special to me! Read more>>

Shanice Farrugia

My artistic practice is deeply rooted in introspection and in exploring the nuances of the human experience. I seek to capture the essence of human connection through self-portraits and portrayals of loved ones. One of the most meaningful projects I’ve been working on is a series of black and white drawings that explore the concept of timelessness. With a meticulous eye for detail, I’m drawn to capturing candid, humorous moments shared with loved ones. Read more>>

Sergio Bastidas

One of my inspirations that I’ve had with my creative process was the graphic novel and film “The Crow.” For years I had been trying to turn certain images from the comic to photographs. I conceived of the idea back in 2011 but couldn’t find the right model to help me figure out how to do this. After years of search I finally had a muse that I could see help with the interpretation. The photos were taken in 2020 with the collaboration of my make up artist. Read more>>

Danyelle Speaks

One of the most meaningful project I would have to say was writing a series of songs and poems that told the story of those incarcerated both adults and females. A lot of people who have never been behind prison walls have a negative view of everyone there. This was I chance I was given to tell the story of those incarcerated to people who may not ever visit or listen to the story from the side of the inmate. Read more>>

Emily Booher

I think the most meaningful project I’ve worked on so far was the NPR Tiny Desk Concert I played this past June. I’ve been a big fan of that series since high school and one of my biggest dreams has always been to play on one. I grew up playing classical music; first voice, then piano, then cello, but I was always really passionate about the music I listened to. Read more>>

Beth DeVerre

I have had the opportunity to work on several meaningful projects. One of them was designing the chapel windows for Highland’s Oncology in Rogers, AR. I met with the chaplain Pamela Cicioni Rhoads to discuss the desired feeling of the space and what the clinic hoped to achieve for their clients. Read more>>

Kim Tateo

I have several meaningful projects, and they are all inspired by the idea of our interconnectedness. I was an orphan and adopted, and through the years, this experience has formed my perspective of wanting to create safe spaces and healing in my art. Not only do I want to leave beautiful artifacts in the form of paintings and songs, but I want to create experiences that explore and create connections. Read more>>

Stephanie Bartage

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was directing The Shawshank Redemption stage adaptation by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns. I have always been a Stephen King fan and this story has been one of my favorites growing up. I had the chance to make it come to life on stage with 225 Theatre Collective, a theatre nonprofit I co-founded with Victoria Brown. It was a rewarding experience because I proved to myself that I can be ambitious and take on bigger projects. Directing this show taught me a lot more about theatre and how theatre and film can sometimes work together. Read more>>

Renato Fimene

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my latest short film, which explores the issue of homelessness. This project was particularly significant because it allowed me to delve deeply into a subject I’m passionate about, while pushing my boundaries as an actor and storyteller. Despite facing various challenges, such as tight schedules and limited resources, the collaborative effort with a dedicated team brought the film to life. Read more>>