Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?

We have had the good fortunate of connecting with Nobel Laureates, titans of industry, rockstars and rising stars across dozens of industries and we have always found their stories about who they were early on to be most fascinating. Below, you’ll find members of the community sharing their responses to this key aspect of their stories.

Manny Streetz Guevara

Just a kid from Jacksonville FL who had a dream to be sought. When I was in highschool I thought I was going to be a professional soccer player, then I graduated highschool and just knew I had to try another dream route. Read more>>

Azra King-Abadi

I don’t think I’ve ever been anyone else. Since I was at least 5 years old I knew I wanted to be an artist. I did theater and visual arts in high school. Then I went to college for visual arts. Read more>>

Aaron Krebs

I have always been an entrepreneur. At the age of 5 I would put a stand on the corner and sell bags of pecans I collected from my grandparents yard. At 7 I picked green beans from dad’s garden and put them in the red wagon and went door-to-door. Read more>>

Rey Baca

This would probably date back to when I was about 6 years old… I was a crybaby, mama’s girl! I loved going to museums and creating – still true for me! I loved being with my friends and making new ones. I am trying to return back to her, my ‘reyreybac’ era. Read more>>

Joe Scarnici

I was always me. The world never had to tell me who to be. I’ve been a photographer for as long as I can remember literally since I was about five years old. My dad once took a photo of my toy dinosaur and army man in the grass, then told me there were dinosaurs in the backyard while I was at school. Read more>>

Payal Sawhney

Before the world told us who we had to be, Saahas for Cause was simply an idea, a spark born from compassion and a desire to help. We were a small group of people who saw the quiet struggles of South Asian immigrants, women silenced by fear, elders battling loneliness, youth torn between two cultures — and felt a deep urge to stand beside them. Read more>>