Core to our mission is helping our audience and community reach their full potential and the most important part of reaching your full potential is starting to find your purpose. Below, we’ve shared stories and insights from the community around how various folks found their purpose and we hope it helps you in your journey.

Eli Leder

I started my journey in music in elementary school with the guidance of my music teacher. He encouraged me to join the choir, leading to other musical endeavors. I eventually established myself as a bass player, finding my role as the foundation in ensembles. I began to get serious about music when I took part in the Tri-C JazzFest Academy, where I found mentors who carry through to this day. I saw people in love with the music, who couldn’t imagine doing anything else with their lives. I wanted to be like them, bringing joy through collaboration. Read More>>

Elonte Davis

I found my purpose by paying attention to what gave me goosebumps. It wasn’t a perfect moment or a big break. It was the little things. Documenting my city. Giving people their flowers while they’re here. Telling stories that normally get overlooked. I started paying attention to how photography made me feel. It became therapeutic while at the same time it was immortalizing people. I realized my purpose was rooted in appreciation. I create so people feel seen, heard, remembered. That’s what keeps me going. My purpose isn’t just a talent. It’s a responsibility. Read More>>

Jennifer McDonough

In the summer of 2023, I found myself in the single most cataclysmic period of my life. I had just resigned from my job as a school nurse — the sheer size of workload at an underserved, underprivileged school was what I cited as my reasons for leaving, but really it had more to do with that job re-triggering my childhood trauma. I had just told my partner of 8 years, who I was engaged to at the time and who was acting as a step-dad to my child, that I wanted to permanently end our relationship. Read More>>

Adrienne Fairfield

I used to think purpose was something you found in a s

ngle, defining moment. But for me, it’s been a collection of moments — some small, some life-changing — that pointed me toward the life I was meant to build.

When I first moved to St. Thomas, I came looking for a new chapter, not necessarily a long-term home. But almost immediately, I felt a deep connection to the island — to the resilience, the vibrancy, and the way the community values relationships and belonging. I realized that the kind of life I wanted wasn’t about chasing the next big thing; it was about investing fully in where I was. Read More>>

Sri Dharma Mittra

Sri Dharma Mittra’s guru or teacher taught that if you have a little spiritual knowledge, the greatest act of charity is to share it. Sri Dharma spent a decade learning directly from his guru and his guru’s close disciples here in New York City. In 1967, he was asked to begin offering classes at the Yogi Gupta New York Center both to fellow disciples and members of the general public in the third and fourth limbs of practice: Asana (yoga poses) and Pranayama (breathing exercises).  Read More>>

Quintin And Ron

Finding our purpose as a photographers was a gradual process that came through experience, exploration, and reflection. Early on, we were drawn to photography simply because we loved capturing moments and telling stories through images. But it wasn’t until we started paying closer attention to the stories behind the photos that we realized our purpose was to not just capture a moment, but to create images that resonate with people on a deeper level. Read More>>

Dr. Karla Evans And Dr. Veronica Tetterton

From a very young age, we both knew we were called to be helpers and had a passion for being a variable of change in the equation of people’s lives. We were naturally gifted with empathy and a desire to be a bridge for hopeless people to live their best life. For us, it wasn’t as much about finding our purpose, it was more about discovering the different ways these natural giftings would emerge in life. We both took a path leading us to clinical psychology and spent about a decade treating inmates in federal prisons.  Read More>>

Amy Sittman

Ever since I was young I knew two different worlds. My folks split when I was an infant. My mothers world of music and Grateful Dead being sung to me as a lullaby. Growing up at the rainbow gathering and drum circles were an integral part of my child hood that helped shape who I am today.
On the other hand my father also raised me half way across the country in Alaska. Him being a hard working mechanic at a gold mine he installed into me a lifestyle of being self sufficient. Hunting, fishing and canning your own food was a huge part of our life. Not having to rely on grocery stores and being intentional about everyday purchases. Read More>>

Cole Jaczko

I found my purpose by working really hard to find it. At 25, I was in private equity – everything looked perfect on paper, but I was unhappy and unfulfilled. I was making great money, but that money wasn’t making me happy. I was super stressed and just didn’t like that version of myself.

I decided I needed to find a way out. This can’t be it. I’m not excited about this path. You know, a lot of people struggle to find purpose because you’re not gonna find it in the 30 minutes between Zoom calls while responding to emails. For me, I needed to go through this deep period of self-exploration. Read More>>

Tracey Luckner

My purpose is to be an artist. Growing up, it was always the thing I was best at. I loved any art class, was always drawing and painting, and always felt happiest and most myself when I was creating. When it came time to go to college, my advisor suggested I go to art school. I wish I had listened (!) but at the time I thought I needed to go in search of my purpose and that I would find it by trying new things. I went to a liberal arts college and studied art history.  Read More>> 

Christine Goss

When I started writing (I’m an author and an agent) I had a hard time understanding what agents were looking for, where to find that information, and how to find out more about publishing. It isn’t necessarily gatekept, I think that it mostly unknown…until you know it.

So my purpose when starting to be an agent was to help authors learn more about publishing and the craft of writing, along with giving them feedback that may help them move forward in their publishing journey with more of an direction than before. Read More>>

Shakira Harsley

For years, I helped women feel beautiful on the outside—as a makeup artist and photographer, I mastered the art of enhancing outer beauty. But there came a moment, quiet but undeniable, when God started tugging on my spirit: ‘There’s more.’ I realized I wasn’t just called to create beauty, I was called to awaken purpose.

That shift didn’t happen overnight. It took prayer, stillness, obedience, and honestly—letting go of who I thought I was in order to become who I was created to be. That’s how Emerge was born. Read More>>

Hope Robinson

My purpose is to make women I meet feel seen… whether in friendship or photography and in whatever season of life they’re in. If I interact with another woman and she leaves me thinking “oh she feels safe”, that feels like such an honor. It’s what I was made for. In comedy or comfort, sorrow or laughter, if I can love someone well, it feels like I’m becoming the kind of woman that I myself needed throughout my life. An encourager. Read More>>

Jamye Price

To me, purpose is aligned with passion and leads to fulfillment. I have always worked to follow passions where they arose, and let them fall when timing or flow didn’t sustain. When I was younger it seemed to be a search, but eventually I discovered that I could find purpose in many unexpected places.

Early on I thought purpose had to be attached to a job, or a job couldn’t be fulfilling. I had many jobs that were biding time until my real purpose could be fulfilled. After I had quite a few years-long pursuits not work out, I started looking back at my own patterns and what was beneath my search for purpose and fulfillment. Read More>> 

Charu Seth

I didn’t find my purpose in one big moment- it revealed itself through many small, often uncomfortable ones. After years of prioritizing others- my family, my relationships I realized I had slowly disconnected from myself. My turning point came after my marriage ended. What looked like a breaking point became a breakthrough. I began asking deeper questions: Who am I outside of these roles? What do I want to contribute to the world? Read More>>

Sadie Lynn

It took me a long time to find my purpose. Throughout school, whenever people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I never had a consistent answer. No career path really stood out to me. In seventh grade, my counselor would make my class take career quizzes to see which fields we might belong in, and I always disliked my results. The only thing that stayed consistent was creating. Since I was a kid, I’ve known that I loved art and making things—that I was a creator. However, growing up, I was told that being an artist doesn’t pay the bills, so I never seriously considered pursuing a creative field in school. Read More>>

Luis Flores

I found my purpose after I started producing a few years ago. I realized I can just be more than a local dj. If it wasn’t for Covid and picking up a controller I don’t think I would be where I’m at today.
I’ve been going to raves since I was 18. On my 18th birthday I went to my first rave at Lizard Lounge in Dallas. RIP. Since then I never looked back. From shows to festivals I always enjoyed the music and the energy it captivated. When I began to learn how to DJ and produce I told myself “man why couldn’t have I started djing and producing sooner.” But, looking back, it wasn’t for me. Read More>>

Kim Berlin

The way I’ve seen purpose portrayed in our culture is that it’s something additive, to be found outside of ourselves. The way I found my own purpose was a reductive process– the stripping away of a life’s worth of external projections to reveal what was already alive within me. I discovered purpose is not a singular, elusive destination– but rather an ingredient we can apply freely, in abundance, to absolutely everything we do. Read More>> 

Claudia Mendoza

I found my purpose by building a company that would help families find engagement and have fun. I attended so many events and there’s so many people on their phones and not communicating or having fun. So I figured why not do something that is going to get everyone involved. Not just a specific age group. Read More>> 

Diletta Guglielmi

If I’m being honest, purpose is something I continue to grapple with. I often find myself questioning my path, my choices, the direction I’m heading. It’s not a linear journey for me. But there is one place where I consistently feel grounded and whole: on set, or on stage, surrounded by fellow creatives. That’s where things make sense. That’s where I feel like I belong. My love for acting began not with a grand sense of purpose, but with the simple, instinctive joy of storytelling. Read More>>

Tracy Hutchins

My brothers and I grew up surrounded by BBQ. In 1978, our father literally attached Roy’s Smokehouse to our home in Princeton, Texas. As a young man, I felt just as connected to the craft of traditional Texas BBQ as I do now. It wasn’t just something I did as a job, it was something I did with my family, which is what matters most to me. Read More>>

 Sohan Shah

Our main mission has always been to promote financial literacy and economics education to underserved and underprivileged populations. As we strive to accomplish this, we have found our purpose in not just teaching finance and creating educational content but fostering a unique connection between those we help and the lifelong lessons learned. While this purpose is something we found worthwhile, impactful, and necessary, many major steps were first needed to accomplish this. Read More>>

Demetrice Chance

I initially went to college right after high school because it was the expected path. However, I soon got off track and started making poor choices. The turning point came when I ended up in jail. When I got out, the very next morning, I heard a voice tell me, “leave.” So, I returned to my hometown of Dallas, TX to start fresh. I moved in with my mom, and every day I rode the train searching for a job, telling myself, “I have to find my purpose.” Read More>>

Jay Mikal

After working in tech for over 15 years, I was laid off from a great position with a startup that lost it’s funding. This was actually first time I ever had a lapse of employment in my life. or some reason, I was immediately engulfed with a deep since of peace (instead of feeling fear or anxiety about my future, my financial stability, or my next move). The week I lost my job, I started waking up at 4:44 AM every night for 7 days. It was disturbing at first because I couldn’t understand the meaning of the synchronicity but I knew something was trying to get my attention.  Read More>>

Nicolas And Matias

Our purpose in DJing was sparked when we attended our first electronic music events and felt the energy that a DJ could create. The atmosphere, the connection through music, and the ability to uplift an entire crowd inspired us. Music has always been a huge part of our lives—our parents filled our home with it, our dad passionate about sound systems, and our mom finding joy in every melody. Growing up surrounded by music, we realized we wanted to share that same joy and create unforgettable experiences for others. Our goal is to provide an escape, helping people let go of stress and immerse themselves in the moment. Read More>>

Carmell Clark

That moment of awareness when my purpose clarified for me? Well, my purpose had been there inside of me all my life, waiting for me to fully commit myself to the invisible yet fully-aligned path of it.

I had a partner and a business, a mortgage, a financial foundation to keep up–excuses. Then New Year’s Eve 2004, I was sharing an incredible Sauvignon Blanc with my friend Marin who had fiercely put her stamp on the globe by, among other things, going after and getting herself on the Italian Women’s Pro Cycling Team. Read More>>

 Jenny Brisson

In 2011, I was a recipient of a Type 1 Diabetic Assistance Dog. I was excited, prepared and deeply hopeful that this new tool, a working dog, would help alert me to low blood sugar. At that time, I was struggling with Hypoglycemia Unawareness, a dangerous condition in which the body is no longer produces the expected warning signs of low blood sugar, such as shakiness, sweating, or rapid heartbeat, disorientation, slowed or slurred speech, etc. Read More>> 

Claire Winik

I discovered my purpose through the legacy of suffering and loss I’ve experienced in my lifetime. While I don’t believe that suffering is a prerequisite for finding one’s purpose, for me, it was through my pain that I found mine.

In 2001, I tragically lost my sister—a moment that forever changed the course of my life and remains one of the most profound and painful events I’ve endured. I was raised by parents who emphasized the importance of connection—community, family, and helping others. Read More>>

Claire Tyra

I am the Executive Site Director at SCRAP Creative Reuse Ann Arbor.
We are a nonprofit creative reuse center. Our mission is to inspire creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior through our secondhand store and by providing educational programs to our community. We function as a secondhand arts and crafts store and are a part of a network including 3 other centers across the U.S. Read More>>

Sheri Keene

I believe my purpose stems from my childhood. Growing up, I wasn’t dealt the best set of cards and was able to see a side of life that I knew I didn’t want for myself. It has made me see things from all sides and also become more empathetic towards people and life in general. I knew with my photography business that I wanted people to be seen/heard and show up as their authentic selves. I feel like too often we try to wrap everything up in a pretty bow and at times that’s just not how it is. Read More>>

Alyson Adashko Raskin

Purpose is a process, a path of discovery which for me, requires embodied listening, participation and discernment. YOGInquiry, a dynamic, transformational practice that I developed, which combines compassionate embodied inquiry with trauma-informed yoga, is a way I continue to discover my purpose.

I believe my mother knew her life was limited (partially because she had survived Hodgkins Lymphoma when she was a child) and she lived, loved, worked and played large with the time she had (She died when she was 39 years old). Read More>>

Diana Rosas Cabrejos

When I first arrived in Los Angeles, I came with a clear goal: to become an actor and performer. But deep down, I knew I wanted more than just to chase the spotlight, I wanted to go beyond that. I asked myself, What else can I do?

I’ve always felt that I was put on this earth with a purpose, to create change and make a meaningful impact in people’s lives. Acting and art were the tools I knew I could use to reach others, to inspire, to heal. So when I got here, I prayed. I spent a year in constant devotion, asking for clarity and direction. I prayed to be a light. Read More>>

 Janel Hedberg

I was exposed to disease and death at an early age including my grandmother from Breast cancer. The experience sparked my curiosity and passion for health and wellness. Over the years through continued education, and the loss of many loved ones, I have fine tuned my skills and services to help others achieve a heathier life both physically and emotionally. Read More>>

Minah Park

I found my purpose by paying close attention to what bothered me the most. Whether it was something seemingly trivial or a deeply unresolved experience, I chose not to ignore those feelings. Instead, I treated them as starting points—problems to understand and work through. My creative journey began as a way of processing those lingering questions, translating them into material and form.

In that sense, art became both a tool for problem-solving and a way to connect with others who might share similar concerns. This process feels meaningful to me because I believe that resonance can spark dialogue—and even plant small seeds of positive change. Read More>> 

Taylor Bennett

I love this question because it gives me a chance to check in with myself—to see where my mindset is and honor how far I’ve come in both my creative and personal journey. I believe one’s purpose is ever-growing, constantly evolving as you align your path with intention. As you put action behind your ambitious thoughts, you get closer to identifying your aligned purpose for that specific era of your life. Read More>>

Izzan

I think I always knew what my purpose was. Even if I was not actively seeking it out. Looking back on the past ten years, I think I was doing things that resulted in me avoiding my purpose. Whether it was going through the motions of young adulthood and figuring it out as I went along, other interests getting in the way or allowing fear to get the best of me, my purpose, while I had a sense of what it was, ended up manifesting itself a little unconventionally and finding me instead. Read More>>

Diana Nunez

Finding my purpose was a journey of self-discovery, passion, and resilience. OMA EM was born from my deep desire to create more than just swimwear—I wanted to build a brand that empowers people to embrace their authentic selves while prioritizing sustainability.

Growing up, I was always drawn to creativity and self-expression, but it wasn’t until I started OMA EM that I realized my true calling was to merge fashion with purpose. The journey wasn’t always easy—starting a business comes with challenges, self-doubt, and moments of uncertainty. But every step reinforced my belief that I was creating something meaningful. Read More>>

Sarah Desjarlais

I had been a foster parent for several years already when I found myself in a child welfare office for a meeting. A group of community members were putting together baskets full of first-apartment essentials and planning a graduation party for the handful of foster teens graduating high school that spring. As we wound our way through nondescript cubicles past social workers with varying degrees of defeat on their faces, we arrived in what we thought was our conference room. It was already occupied, so our guide quickly turned us around to find another meeting room. I poked my head in to find a 10 year old boy slumped down in a big office chair. His social worker had bought a happy meal, but he wasn’t interested in eating. He had been given a small box of toys and activities, but it wasn’t doing the trick either. Read More>>

Manny Gonzalez

I would say I’ve been looking for my purpose since I began to consider a career in high school. I always knew I had the work ethic, intelligence, and perseverance to be successful at whatever I wanted to do, but I felt unsure when it came to solidifying and confirming a career. Read More>>

Kieran O’Fallon

I found my purpose through the media I consumed. When I was younger, I loved to read and would always find myself lost in fictional worlds. It helped me escape the loneliness of my real life and I still do that to this day. I was in middle school when I really gained my passion for art through creating fanart for my favorite shows and books. As I got to high school, I continued to create this type of work, while also exploring my own original works. I also started falling in love with graphic novels and consumed them voraciously at the time, which inspired me to start looking at being a full time artist as something I might want to pursue. When I was applying for colleges, I wasn’t actually 100% sure if art was what I wanted full time, I knew how hard it was to be an artist and the many sacrifices I would have to make, but SCAD was the only college that accepted me and it forced me down the path I am on today. Read More>>

Samantha Lane

My work ethic is deeply rooted in a sense of purpose and passion for improving people’s lives through thoughtful design. Firmly established in the founding this interiors firm was developing a company with the goal of creating spaces that not only look aesthetically pleasing but also enhance the quality of life for the people who use them. My focus is on designing environments that foster comfort, functionality, and joy, allowing people to create lasting memories within those spaces. This drive stems from a genuine desire to make a positive impact on others, turning each project into an opportunity to shape spaces that are both meaningful and empowering. Read More>>

Jes Adam

Honestly? I don’t think I ever had a big “aha” moment where the clouds parted and a booming voice said, this is your purpose. It’s been more like a breadcrumb trail—just following the things that felt right, that made sense, that made a difference.

I’ve always had this pull to help people. And not in a vague, “change the world” kind of way—but in a real way. Like: you’re overwhelmed by your business? Let’s fix that. Your website is a mess? I’ll clean it up. You don’t know what to say in your marketing? Let’s figure it out together. I like being useful. I like being the person people can call and say, “Hey, I don’t know what to do,” and I can say, “I got you.” Read More>>

Nina Ghassemzadeh

It’s always been vital for me, on a personal level, to bring a sense of purpose into everything I do. However, I spent most of my adult life knowing deep down, that my true purpose was not yet discovered. No matter how successful I was in my previous career field or personal life, a mysterious feeling that I was meant for something different, always lingered. Read More>>

Dr. P. (Dominique Padurano, MS, Ed, PhD)

I’ve loved teaching since I was six years old. My first-grade teacher didn’t know what to do with me when I finished all of my lessons early, so she asked me to teach my classmate to read — which I did!

Other kids started asking for my help with homework on the school bus, and as a high school student, I’d tutor my younger sister and her friends. Although the high school I attended had sent only one other student to Harvard before me, I applied in the fall of 1988 and got in. When I got to Harvard, I started SAT tutoring to pay for books (and mocha coffee with my best friend at the now defunct, forever beloved Café Pamplona). Read More>>

Sherri Savage

So how did I find my purpose? I think my true purpose is the fact that I was a single mom and I had to find a way of keeping food on the table. I’ve always been immensely talented at anything, creative, but I lost a lot of that spark when I went through my divorce. When the pandemic hit, I was in between jobs. I was struggling to find something that would pay enough to put food on the table, and I have to say I kept seeing a bunch of people branching out into the craft world, which I’ve always been a part of, but I wanted something that could truly make me money because if something looks crafty people don’t wanna buy it. Read More>>