Defining moments aren’t just exciting – they are thought-provoking and fertile ground for learning. These inflection points often are the result of an illuminating moment where some truth of the universe presents itself in an easier to recognize form. Below, you’ll find talented and successful entrepreneurs and artists sharing the stories of defining moments in their lives.

Cassandra Cacace

Like many, I felt lost during those first years of college and unsure what I should “do with the rest of my life.” It felt like everything was hanging precariously in the balance and one wrong move would tip the scales unfavorably. Despite how much I struggled with science classes (notably chemistry, or as I say chem-mystery), I decided to major in pharmacy. On top of that, I moved a few hours away from home, had a messy break-up, and my parents divorced. I found myself in the client chair at the local therapy office, something I had never done before. I was frequently amazed by how much space I could take up there, without judgment, and by sophomore year, I changed my major to psychology. Read more>>

Elena Herrera

I never ever thought in my entire life that I would be a spiritual healer. I graduated with Finance and Marketing degrees from ASU. This is the direction i thought my life should’ve headed. But I struggled to find a job in the finance field. So, I switched to real estate, but that came to an end a couple of years later. Shortly after I met a personal trainer. She thought me how to take care of my body. I trained with her consistently to get to the desired shape. At the same time she introduced me to fitness competitions and modeling. I loved it so much that I ended up becoming a personal trainer myself. I was really happy to help others to get in shape and have a healthy lifestyle. Read more>>

Marquita Butler

I have been a registered nurse for 16 years and my most defining moments became when I was working in the intensive care units. I have seen death, near death and complicated situations numerous times. My very first death of a patient was a young 24-year-old woman that had a baby 8 days prior to her death. She developed what is called postpartum cardiomyopathy, the heart begins to fail after giving birth. It was the same age I had my first child and to know that this child would never know his mother was heartbreaking. As years went on, you develop a certain numbness but there are always certain cases that touch your feelings and emotions deeply. Read more>>

Ashley Nazon

It is amazing how you will have a plan for your life, but God has other plans for you. I started my career by going to law school. I had a vision of being family law attorney since my undergrad degree was in social work. Life happened! I had a terrible breakup right before I started law school and at the age of 22 I did not know how to manage school and my personal life. I flunked out of law school 1L year, despite my efforts of bringing up all my grades the spring semester. This was a defining moment in my career. I felt defeated and found myself feeling like a failure. I went back to what I knew, social work. I started off working for a home health company doing therapy with the elderly in their homes. That experience made me fall in love with social work all over again. Read more>>

Brittany Mayo

My defining moment actually comes from my early childhood. When I was about 4 years old my family lived next door to some lovely women whom I affectionally called “the old ladies”. I loved these women so much that I would sit out on my front porch adjacent to theirs and talk all day until I was forced to go inside and eat dinner. It wasn’t until I was about 20 years old that my mom informed me that the home next door to that childhood home was actually a group home, and those ladies had special needs. I was shocked because at the time I had already graduated from college with a degree in psychology, and recently received my first “grown up job” as a director at a group home for those with special needs. Read more>>

Christine` Chiu

I’ve been an owner of Independent pharmacy for over 30 years serving the local community. Few years back, I had the opportunity to move my practice to a medical building with Doctors specializing in Neurology and Pain. The defining moment was when the Doctors came to me with their frustration in treating their patients. On the average, patients were prescribed 7-8 different medications which made marginal improvements but with that came barrage of unwanted side effects. They heard about the possible benefits of CBD and wanted me to look into it. Read more>>

Miguel Angel Sanchez

I could say there were a few parts that contributed to this specific defining moment. I was at a crossroads in my career, and i was constantly asking myself, how can i truly create the opportunity to make an impact in my community. 2019 I created a workshop, named “Body Awareness Workshop.” With my background of constantly being injured and dealing with physical pain, i wanted to show people that no matter the limitations one might have, you can still find ways to stay physically active. Read more>>

Devra Lindsay

A moment that shifted the course of my life’s journey and would forever change the direction of my path was the day in 1994 I was at a health fair at The Houstonian Club. There I met an individual that would become my greatest mentor. This was the day I met Dr. DicQie Fuller, author of “The Healing Power of Enzymes,”  founder of Transformation Enzyme Corporation, and a pioneer of enzyme therapy and Biochemical Individualism, one of the few science-based body typing. This day changed my overall health and my life’s path direction into a whole new career. Read more>>

Ley David Elliette Cray, PhD

Back when I was working as a college professor and had just recently gone public on my campus regarding my identity as transgender, I attended a “listening session” supposedly centered on the needs, concerns, and struggles of LGBTQIA+ faculty. After hearing a variety of moving and tearful stories about the realities of how gender- and sexual-minority faculty tended to be treated on campus, the career bureaucrat representing the upper administration informed us that, while she her thoughts were with us, we needed to remember that “this isn’t New York” and “we’re not going to change the culture.” Read more>>

Dana Stricevic

My background is in Social Work; when I moved from Chicago to San Diego in 2016, I didn’t really have plans for my career, but was open to figuring it out when I arrived in California. I moved in with my friend at the time, Luke. Luke is a Marine Corps veteran. One day Luke asked me if I would be interested going rock climbing and I suppose that was the defining moment. Read more>>

Venita Graves

The night i performed my self breast exam and found a lump in my right breast was the day that my whole life changed. I was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma Insitu Breast Cancer in 2003. As a salon owner, I lost my hair and started making wigs. I volunteered for the beauty barber salon at MD Anderson for many years and from that Beauty Beyond Breast Cancer was birthed. BBBC provides free wigs for women who lose their hair while enduring the ravishing effects of chemotherapy. Read more>>

Sandi Star

Can you imagine a six-year-old child with migraine headaches? That was me. I would be outside playing and my head would start pounding. My vision would get distorted and I would start feeling sick to my stomach. I’d have to come inside, take an Excedrin—which I now know helped set the stage for digestive issues to come—and cover my head with a pillow until the pain passed. As I got older, migraines became the norm. They would typically last three days and then start over again. My mom also had severe migraines. She would have to go to the hospital and get pain meds injected into her neck. Read more>>