Sometimes just seeing resilience can change out mindset and unlock our own resilience. That’s our hope with the Portraits of Resilience series – we hope the stories below will inspire you to tap into your own resilience.
Tina Parol
I get my resilience from my faith as a Christian, from my family’s story of immigration, and from overcoming health battles with scoliosis. Read More>>
Barbara Kamba-Nyathi
My resilience is borne from the many experiences in my life journey. As someone who has autoimmune disease, one of the vital lessons I learnt early on in my childhood was that when ever I allowed the pain to bring me down, I opened up doors for more pain and discomfort. Read More>>
Daniel Lopez
This is a great question. I get my resilience from my mother (Isabel) and father (Jose). They immigrated—my mother from Mexico and my father from El Salvador—so when they worked, I always noticed how much intention and persistence they put into what they did. My mother grew up working on farms and studied hard to become a teacher. Read More>>
Artem Ustayev
My resilience came from watching my father and mother struggle greatly to provide my sisters and I a wonderful life in a foreign country. We immigrated here from the former USSR when I was 6 years old. My father was 35 at the time with 3 small children, no grasp of the English language, and completely broke. Read More>>
Bradford Rogne
I think my resilience comes from building a creative career in Los Angeles for more than two decades — a city that constantly evolves and asks you to level up with it. Read More>>
Rick & Josh
At The Break Room, our resilience comes from our community. We’ve built this place around people, the locals who show up week after week, the friends who’ve become family, and the shared moments that remind us why we started. Every challenge we’ve faced has only strengthened that connection. Read More>>
Laura Marie Kaiser
I used to think ‘Moxie’ was my only identifying one-word character trait, but I’ve also learned that ‘resilience’ is also perfect for me. I come from a dysfunctional family where my emotional needs were not met as a child, and I’ve since learned that those same family members do not know how to love me as an adult. Read More>>
Jennifer Tabiza
My resilience comes from a deep desire for freedom. From the very beginning, I’ve been determined to create my own income and my own path, because the alternative was never an option. The thought of losing my autonomy, my creativity, and having to answer to someone else was the one thing I could not accept. Read More>>
Kamila Iusupova Haynes
I get my resilience from the spark I see in my athletes. Watching them face challenges, push their limits, and grow through hard work gives me incredible strength. Every breakthrough moment — every time they surprise themselves with what they can do — reminds me why I love coaching. Their dedication fuels my own perseverance and keeps me moving forward no matter what. Read More>>
Keri Hayes
My resilience comes from how I was raised and what I’ve lived through. Growing up in downtown Detroit, nothing was handed to us. My dad was a handyman, my mom worked long shifts at GM, and I learned early on that if something needed to get done, you figure it out and you don’t complain. That environment taught me grit, creativity, and self-reliance. Read More>>
Elysa Quintella
I think a large part of my resilience comes from remembering my “why” in what I do. It’s very helpful in anchoring myself during challenging moments. I never want to look back and have any “what ifs” or regrets in my journey. Ultimately, my resilience is a result of wanting to make myself and my loved ones proud. Read More>>
Emily Lamberton Hill
My resilience has been forged through experience — it’s something you can only earn by moving through life’s hardest moments and choosing to rise again. I’ve faced my share of challenges: losing my brother at 18, walking through divorce, rebuilding my life from financial struggle, and navigating a childhood that taught me strength early on. Each season shaped me in profound ways. Read More>>
Lacey Ingersoll
I come from a long line of hardworking, resilient people. My family is full of entrepreneurs and small business owners, so I’ve grown up surrounded by examples of what it looks like to keep going no matter what. My grandmother started our dance studio here in Michigan nearly 50 years ago, and I had the privilege of taking over from her in 2019. Read More>>
Sergio Escalona
My resilience comes from art itself—from the ability to transform struggle into beauty. Every setback becomes a brushstroke in the masterpiece of growth. Read More>>
Kimberly DeShields-Spencer
That’s such a beautiful question. Honestly, my resilience comes from a mix of faith, life, and a whole lot of grace. There have been seasons where I didn’t even realize I had resilience until life demanded it. You know those moments when everything feels like it’s falling apart, and somehow, you still find the strength to get up the next day? Read More>>
Joseph Kelly
Through the lens, I’ve learned that every shadow holds its own light — and every waiting moment carries quiet wisdom. My photography captures what words often can’t: the stillness between breaths, the sacred pause before breakthrough. Kioas was born from those pauses — from the unseen energy that walks beside us when the road feels long and the light uncertain. Read More>>
Sridevi Swaminathan
My grandmother is where I get my resilence. She always saw something different in me, something magical. Though, I never believed in magic. As I would always scoff after watching Winx Club with my friends. However, my grandmother encouraged my need for bravery and individuality to grow through her stories of hardship, just like magic. Read More>>
Emmanuel Rodriguez
Awareness that whatever journey I choose to embark on will have its own unique struggles. Read More>>
Nasira Montgomery
My resilience comes from the people and the stories that built me. I grew up surrounded by strength — in my family, my culture, my community — but also by people who didn’t always get to be soft or seen. So when life feels heavy, I turn to creating. Read More>>
DeJay McNeil
My personal resilience comes from hardship. I learned to keep getting up when life continuously knocks me down. When you grow up like I did, you should want change. I say should because some people get comfortable with hardships and just barely making it, asking for favors every other day. In my opinion, that makes people lazy. Get up and get it for yourself. Read More>>
Cathy Koo
I came to the United States after graduating from an art academy, and over the years, Los Angeles has truly become my second home — the place where I’ve lived the longest and discovered who I am as both an artist and a person. Life as an immigrant hasn’t always been easy. Read More>>
Edwin Colmenarez
My resilience comes from the responsibility I have to my family and from the strategic mindset I developed through chess. Chess taught me three things I use every day as an entrepreneur: anticipate problems before they arrive, make clear decisions under pressure, and understand that you don’t quit a difficult game — you find a way to turn it around. Read More>>
Tim Esper
Resilience is definitely something that is built, not a trait that you just automatically possess. And whether fortunate or unfortunate, it is typically built by failure. However, if you’re the type of person that learns from failure, and grows from it, you can build up resilience. Challenges and struggles you face won’t bother you as much. Read More>>
HELENA WANG
I find resilience from my community and their unwavering faith in me. I’ve also learned to find strength from within – this self-healing belief that I am strong enough to withstand the challenges that occur. Read More>>
Jessica Lynn Oistacher
For me, resilience comes from experience, from reframing adversity as growth and from hearing the stories of other founders and leaders who’ve done the same. I’ve always loved a good challenge. Growing up, I rarely acknowledged or understood my emotions. Read More>>
Jaewon Jeong
My resilience comes from the many cycles of breaking and rebuilding — both in my life and in my ceramic work. When I was diagnosed with cancer and went through surgery, I had to face stillness and vulnerability. Clay became my mirror — fragile yet strong, soft yet enduring. Every time a piece cracked in the kiln, I learned something about patience and acceptance. Read More>>
Kora Franco
I get my resilience from having to grow through life’s hardest moments at an early age. When I was 11, I lost my mom to cancer. A year later, I discovered that my dad wasn’t my biological father — essentially becoming an orphan. Read More>>
Vincent a Thomas
I wasn’t always resilient. Truthfully is simply by the grace of God that I’ve even made it this far and that’s the honest truth. what you see now is still a work in progress on the outside I may seem resilient. I may seem confident determined, but truthfully I’m scared I take it day by day just like the next person. Read More>>
Rachel Ellis
My resilience comes from a combination of my faith, experience in corporate America and the challenges I embraced in starting your CPA firm in Hyattsville, MD. Years of working in high-stakes financial environments taught me to problem-solve under pressure, adapt quickly to changing regulations, and maintain professionalism through audits, reviews, and demanding deadlines. Read More>>
Martheus Wade
This is a tough one because I believe my resilience comes from a place of need and obstinacy. I need to do art because it’s what I am. I love telling stories and drawing and I think without that, I might not be here. Read More>>
Hubert Neal Jr
I was born with it. Read More>>
Nishia T. Slater
My resilience comes from the moments I thought I wouldn’t make it, but did. I remember a time in my life when everything seemed to be falling apart, personal setbacks, professional disappointments, and seasons of self-doubt that left me questioning if I could keep going. Read more>>
john Posey
In the acting/writing world, you must have resilience and appreciate that there will be many ‘no’s’ to your ‘yesses.’, Rejection is common and rarely has anything to do with the work you bring to the powers-to-be. There are so many factors and opinions involved that you could argue it is somewhat of a miracle when one does go your way. Read More>>
Angie Kim
My resilience comes from the rhythm of making — layering, revealing, and concealing. When I moved to New York for my MFA, I often felt uncertain and out of place. I extended that uncertainty into my work and tried something new. Through working with fragile materials like paper pulp and latex, I learned that resilience isn’t about resisting change — it’s about transforming with it. Read More>>
Heather Hanson
Resilience started the day I was born. I entered this world carrying both fragility and fire. My earliest years were marked by instability, secrets, and pain. I learned too soon how to be silent, how to endure, how to make myself small so others could feel big. Back then, I didn’t call it resilience. I called it survival. Read More>>
Benita Livingston
My resilience comes from two place; first I saw it lived through my parents. They were both educators and had to overcome a lot to raise five children. We were always told that we could do and be anything we wanted if we put our minds to it. They set the example of how to live, trust God and have faith. Read More>>
Haerri Kim
As a visual artist, I find my resilience in recreating my story through imagery. My art often addresses themes of trauma and ambivalent emotions. By exploring these topics visually, I aim to invite others to share their own experiences of struggle. I work with various mediums, including printmaking, painting, and animation, allowing for a broad range of expression. Read More>>
Drew Keller
From faith first, then family, then habits. I grew up on a hard working family farm and around steady people who did hard things quietly. At Department of Defense I learned the importance of training, growth, and development. In nonprofit leadership I learned to keep showing up when plans change. Read More>>
Dr. Jada Yvonne Lee, B.A. (Biology), B.A. (Spanish), D.C.
From a childhood shaped by struggle and resilience to a career devoted to healing and empowerment, Dr. Jada Lee embodies perseverance and purpose. Through personal loss, financial hardship, and the challenges of having family in the system, she has learned to show up fully — for herself, for her community, and for every patient who walks through her doors. Read More>>
Channing Monae
Oh, this is a great question! I find my resilience in having a strong support system, including my parents, friends, and therapist. They all offer pep talks and reassurance, reminding me of how far I’ve come and how much better things are than what’s bringing me down. Read More>>
Emily Saunders
My resilience? It comes from the kind of deep-rooted grit that’s been forged in me since day one—and honestly, it’s been tested and tempered in the beautiful chaos of building a family and a business at the same time. I was raised by entrepreneurs who turned nothing into something, scraping by with sheer determination and a refusal to quit. Read More>>
Kristina Perez
Growing up as a military child and having to move to another ‘home’ definitely builds resilience when you do it often enough. It gets hard. Constantly having to say goodbye to people and places. Everything just felt temporary, I learned how to wear a mask, shed a new skin constantly. But I also learned how to be resilient through my parents. Read More>>
Kelly V
Honestly it’s the setbacks I go through. Emotional pain has the highest effect on me, That is actually fuel. It might sound insane but I do feel like anger and pain is a powerful source of motivation. I know how to stretch my mind beyond my limitations. So that means I could literally do anything., I that is where my resilience comes into play. Read More>>
Jada Sullivan
I believe my resilience was built through the game of sports. From a young age, I was always competing with older kids and grown men — my dad, his friends, and even the neighbors. There were about a dozen of them who played pickup games at the park, and there I was, just 11 or 12 years old, learning how to hold my own. Read More>>
Anitra St. Hilaire
I learned resilience as a child, though I didn’t have the word for it then. I grew up with an alcoholic father who could be cruel. Living with him meant constantly adjusting…reading his moods, protecting myself from his words, and figuring out how to stay steady in an unpredictable environment. Read More>>
Lilli Eller
Resilience is something I really struggle with. I have such a strong passion to create art that it almost feels like an intrinsic need, but there are a lot of failures and rejections along the way that often feel insurmountable. I particularly struggle with resilience in my pursuit of a career in concept art. Read More>>
Kalpak Deshmukh
I think my resilience comes from curiosity and a deep love for creating. Whenever I hit a challenge, my first instinct is to figure out how it works and how I can make it better. That mindset has carried me through every stage of my journey, from teaching myself new tools to working on complex shots for film and television. Read More>>
Queen Lea’ Gardner
Resilience is such a powerful and beautiful word that is so necessary to have to navigate through life and survive this world and its society’s that aren’t so kind and unified and extremely divided in so many ways especially today! Read More>>
Zulu Bob
I’d say from my family, friends and the random God sent people who have entered or just stopped by to advise me or give words of encouragement. Read More>>
Christie Los
I get my resilience from choosing to build instead of breaking when things get hard. Starting my business taught me to adapt quickly and keep showing up even when things felt uncertain. Over time, I’ve learned that staying consistent and doing the work, even on the rough days, is what moves everything forward. Read More>>
Vanessa Nguyen
Art has been a joy and presence in my life for as long as I can recall, but it I never got to really dive deep into it skill-wise until my third year of college where I more opportunity to do creative work within my major, Multimedia Production. Read More>>
Dana Lindsay
After over 6 decades of life, I think one can grow more resilient just by being on the planet. That said, I believe resilience develops best when we maintain a level of curiosity about our daily lives. Read More>>
Monique and Kevin Bell
Our resilience comes from family, faith, and flavor the three things that have carried us through every stage of our journey. When we created Bell’s Master Blend Sauces, our vision was to build something meaningful, a brand rooted in legacy, authenticity, and excellence. We wanted to craft sauces that represent hard work, creativity, and love. Read More>>
Luigi Fineo
My resilience comes from a combination of discipline, experience, and heart. In the kitchen, I have learned that patience and persistence are essential—dough must be nurtured, sauces perfected, and every mistake is a lesson, not a failure. These lessons translate directly to life: challenges require adaptability, focus, and the willingness to try again. Read More>>
Vadim Dekhtyar
My resilience stems from transformation — both personal and professional. Relocating to a new country required rebuilding my life and career from the beginning, yet it also revealed the depth of inner strength that grows through adaptation. I began my path as a medical doctor, but over time my curiosity about holistic healing led me toward Eastern medicine, where science meets philosophy. Read More>>
