We asked some very thoughtful members of our community to reflect on what they’ve learned from their heroes.

Xavier Figueroa

My hero is my brother Gabriel Figueroa. I am the oldest of five siblings. Gabriel was the second born. He’s my hero because of who he was as a person. He had a tenacity to always do what he wanted. He would make up his mind on something and then go 100% into it. He and I used to work at UPS together. He was on the morning shift and I was on the evening shift loading the trailers. One day I came into work, and a co-worker came to me and told me that my brother had quit UPS. Read more>>

Lilia Wood

My Dad is my hero. Family came first and he sacrificed a lot to make sure we never went hungry and we were safe. We lived in Jamaica, West Indies until 1978 when he sent us to live in Panama with my Grandmother. In Jamaica there was a lot of poverty, food was hard to find, and voilent crime. He was an avid gardener, beekeeper, and grew most of our food. He was a humble and kind man. He showed me what love is and to never give up. Read more>>

Jessica Mae Koza

My hero is my sister, Cassie. She was born with a rare chromosome disorder that caused her to have severe developmental delays and physical handicaps. She wasn’t supposed to live past the age of 5 and is about to celebrate her 38th birthday! Read more>>

Jordan Fox

My mom! Easiest question ever. She is the most grace-filled human being I have ever met. She’s tough as nails and extremely business savvy, but does it all while maintaining a softness that makes her everyone’s favorite. She planted the seed that became Luca’s Cosmic Confectionery. She is the brains of the operation. As a numbers gal, she pulls me back and grounds me when my creative mind goes on wild goose chases. She is an encourager by nature and I’m just so lucky to have her as part of my team in life and now business. Read more>>

Chevaun Smith

My mom Valerie Smith was my Shero. She was my biggest supporter and has always believed in me. As a child I was taught to never say I can’t but rather to always believe that I could do anything I set my mind too. My mom passed unexpectedly in November of 2020. I was and still am in mourning. However she still encourages me to keep reaching for our dreams. Weeks before she passed she had just bought a new laptop to build a website for me but unfortunately she wasn’t able to . Read more>>

Sara Goodson

My biggest hero is my 12yo son Aidan. Aidan is special needs, he has Duchenne muscular dystrophy which is a neuromuscular incurable/terminal disease. Aidan is in a power wheel chair and is my biggest inspiration. He influences my designs so much. He’s the most awesome sc-if loving boy I’ve ever known. Read more>>

Chris Corr

One of my heroes in life, is Dwayne Johnson. Although most know him as “The Rock”, he wasn’t always this heroic and famous figure. At one point, Johnson only had $7 in his pocket when he set out to fulfill his dreams of becoming a pro wrestler. While he ended up fulfilling that dream, he didn’t only do just that. His life story resonates with me as I enjoy hearing about how he was able to conquer success through all odds and from humble beginnings. Read more>>

Teneice Kirby

I have two heroes: Justin McEwen and Edward McEwen. These are the names of my sons. They are my reasons why I do the work that I do and how I move accordingly in life. My sons were born with challenges. Justin has ADHD, PNES (Pseudo Non-Epileptic Seizures), and Cognitive Disability. Edward has ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome (ASD), and Anxiety. When they were younger, I was told that they had challenges but nobody offered any assistance other than put them on medicine. Read more>>

Tamara Carruthers

My mother is my hero. I learned so much from her growing up. I watched her every move. I watched how she handled herself. I watched how she handled other people. But most importantly I watched how she let or didn’t let people handled her. She worked hard. That’s why I have the work ethic that I have. And she let me be me. If wanted to dance, there she was at every competition. Read more>>