Dominic Mendoza

My work ethic and drive has been developed since I was young. I believe a lot of it was from being heavily involved with sports. Sports taught me hard work, dedication, discipline, and how to get up from defeat. From early morning workouts, timeliness, and needing to be a student before an athlete I was able to learn a work ethic that translates into my everyday life to this day. Read More>>

Tom Iverson

I am one of five boys raised by a single mom. She had to work 2 and 3 jobs while I was growing up, which left us boys to essentially fend for ourselves. By third grade I was cooking my own meals, washing my own clothes, and making my own bed.  Read More>>

Kristal Ruiz

My parents! They moved our family from Mexico to San Diego and growing up I watched them work really hard to make it in this country. They taught me the importance of hard work, resiliency and discipline. This motivated in school, college and now in my professional life. Read More>>

Gary Flynn

I’m sure that my work ethic comes from my father, who has been a source of inspiration and drive for me my whole adult life. He’s a guy that worked hard for everything he ever got. He was raised in a lower-income family but excelled anyway, maintaining great grades in school while also being a three-sport athlete, including being on all-state basketball team. Read More>>

Tatiana Albrecht

My work ethic is deeply rooted in my absolute love for vibrant colored gemstones, individuality, uniqueness, and meticulous attention to detail. Exploring the modern bridal aesthetic—its styles, elegance, and ways of standing out—inspired me to design non-traditional, alternative engagement rings. These rings are more than just jewelry; they are meaningful creations that celebrate individuality and tell deeply personal, one-of-a-kind stories. Read More>>

Katharine League

As cheesy as it might sound, I think a large chunk of my work ethic comes from where and how I grew up. The first part of that equation is the Midwest. It’s a little hard to explain, but I’ve always felt like Midwesterners knew how to put their heads down, get stuff done, and in the midst of it all find joy in the little things. Read More>>

Nicole Piper

My work ethic comes from the strong foundation I built growing up. As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my grandfather and father, helping them with handyman tasks around our home and in our Chicago neighborhood. Read More>>

Natalie Perkins

The simple answer comes from our culture. As African Americans, and particularly as women, we were taught the principle of resilience in the phrase No Matter what: no matter what obstacles lie in our path, we must show up, be present, and complete the task at hand. Read More>>

Max Weisman

I believe that it takes a village, and I’m a product of current and former mentors, colleagues, professors, and peers. I am proud of my professional success but always compare myself to those in the field I aspire to work alongside. Read More>>

Brendaliz Cepeda

As an Afro-Puerto Rican woman who owns my own cultural business, my work ethic is deeply rooted in both my heritage and personal experiences. Growing up, I learned the value of resilience, hard work, and community from my family and culture. Read More>>

Alyssa Perez

I developed a strong work ethic from my parents, both of my parents were born in Caguas, Puerto Rico and migrated here at different ages. While Puerto Rico is apart of the U.S, life is VERY different on the island, so coming to a new place and having to learn a whole new language, culture and lifestyle posed its challenges. Read More>>

Donna Vanliere

Both of my parents grew up on farms in east Tennessee in the thirties/forties. My mom was up early to take care of the cows before eating breakfast and then walking to school. Once each of my parents were home from school, there was more work to do on the farm before dinner. Read More>>

Bria Waldron

I’ve also been a hard worker, my parents raised me to be. I was taught to never cut corners, that if I’m going to do something to always do it thoroughly. My parents, more so my dad was strict when it came to my education. I couldn’t sleep in on weekends and I always had extra school work to do even when I was out of school to keep my mind going. Read More>>

Julia Haw

The origins of my self-discipline come directly from reverse engineering from my North Star – and that North Star is liberation and authenticity. As a consistent practice, I often imagine myself at the end of my life.  Read More>>

Irakli Khizanishvili

I get my work ethic from my father. Growing up, he was the kind of person who believed in showing up fully—whether it was for work, family, or even the smallest commitments. He used to say, “How you do everything is how you do anything,” and those words have stuck with me. Read More>>

Kendal Banks Paley

I got it from my mama.

But for real, my mom has always busted her tail to build the best life possible for her family. She didn’t have the easiest time growing up and worked hard to be able to go to college early, when she was 17. Shortly after – she found out she was pregnant with my big sister. Read More>>

Vivian Nguyen

I get my work ethic from both of my parents. My parents have six kids and they were able to raise and provide for us the best that they could with what they had. They both worked graveyard shifts growing up and still managed to have quality time as a family.  Read More>>

Uno Montana

I feel the source of my work ethic derives from obsession with the craft, and the power that art has on perception you could learn a lot from art and that awareness is what carries my respect for it. I have also become addicted to the feeling of writing a banger. Read More>>

Caty Maxey

I was raised in Virginia, on a large farm my father’s family had had for generations. My father got up every morning at 4:30, made his breakfast and went out to tend to the animals and crops and endless chores. He never once slept in, as far as I knew. Read More>>

Danny Ritz

work ethic is a funny thing to me, because it can feel presented as a singular object (i.e., either something you ‘have’ or something you ‘lack’). Read More>>

Riana Elyse Anderson

As the old adage goes, “I get it from my mama”. Dr. Elena Anderson worked almost every job possible within the Detroit Public Schools. She went from intern, to secretary, to teacher, to counselor, to Assistant Principal, to Principal.  Read More>>

Andrew Vogt

My family and recognizing that what I get to do is awesome is where I get my work ethic from.

My father would work over 60 hours a week on average, and would still make time to see the three of us. He became an anesthesiologist despite the significant odds stacked against him. Read More>>

Tammy Myers

I think my work ethic came from living on a small farm growing up. When you have a farm, whether large or small, you have responsibilities around the clock. Feeding horses or cows doesn’t stop on a rainy miserable night and nor does “changing the sprinklers” in the pasture when friends pull up to go off and do something. Read More>>