The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below.
OG Kee
Music has been a part of my life since I was a little girl. I learned how to play the piano at a very young age, leading me to perform in recitals and at church. From then on, I would learn how to write small poems and jingles with my family. I was always good at English, so I took AP English in high school. We got an assignment to create a rap about figurative language, and when the assignment was completed, my family realized I could rap. Read More>>
Isaiah Traylor
I began playing the sport of basketball at the age of 6 years old in the small town of Tupelo, Mississippi. I started in a basketball training program similar to IT3 Training at 8. That program helped shape my basketball career and kickstarted my passion. I have been fortunate enough to take my basketball journey beyond Tupelo. I have traveled the world, played professionally, and created many awesome relationships. My journey was no walk in the park, but I have been thankful for the places it has taken me thus far. Read More>>
A-Wake
Sense young all the members have enjoyed singing. After Rina, Katsumi, and Angel joined a competition for fun and won, they received great praise and were encouraged to form a group. In 2016, the group was officially formed. Victoria helped out as an assistant when the group made covers, music videos, and panels and has done local performances ever since in hopes of bringing others the same joy. Read More>>
Rina Brown
Hello my name is Rina Brown and this is my story about how I started my business as a bird breeder and pet shop owner as young girl I was fascinated with animals of all kinds, the house that we grew up in my father had all kinds of exotic animals and birds it was fascinating to see and experiencing living there as a child it was never boring in my house with exotic animals it was like a dream that I never wanted to wake up from unfortunately as time went by we experienced a major flood Read More>>
Muhammad Ahmed
The idea of Pages of Promise came to me in my first year at UTSA. I wrote about removing the language barrier within our communities for my Honors College thesis. My idea became my ambition when interning for the Office of Mayor Nirenberg. There, I witnessed the difficulty that the people of my hometown faced when asking for help from their leaders due to their lack of English literacy. I made a mission and asked like-minded individuals to join me as we helped our community grow stronger and more welcoming to all. Read More>>
Joel Martinez
EME Studio is as unique as its surroundings. We are located in El Paso, Texas, an American city with a desert landscape and a Mexican heart. This desert city we are proud to call home gives us inspiration from both sides of the border. We can have mouth-watering tacos al pastor served with all the fixings and enjoy them under the warm Texas sky, the best of two countries in one place. Read More>>
Nichole Beene
How did I get started, and a little about myself? It all started when I was growing up and living with my mom, a single parent of my two brothers (Nick & Anthony), and my Grandma. They would always make us clean and make sure that we did it the right way. So, as I got older, it stuck with me the way they showed us how to clean around the house and started using that. About eight years ago, I started with a company that did a lot of post-construction and residential and commercial cleans now and then. Read More>>
Evan Tweedy
My story begins in Seattle, Washington, where I was born. At around two or three years old, we moved to Spokane, Washington, where I started elementary school. I moved again to Boise, Idaho, where I did the rest of my elementary school years and played wallball on a building that has since been torn. I spent a couple of years in Dallas for Middle school; then I moved to San Antonio for high school, where I graduated from O’Connor High School, where I got my first real taste of my writing talents. Read More>>
Kellee Everts
I’ve been baking since I was a young child. Growing up with my father, we baked our bread and made granola weekly instead of purchasing from the store. This was largely because we had very little money, and making our own from scratch was economically sound. However, this is where my love for baking began. Fast forward numerous years to 2017. Our family welcomed our first grandchild into the world. Read More>>
Aaron Macias
I had worked several jobs, from call centers and landscaping to youth pastor and bus driving. I enjoy these on different levels, but with a growing family, I knew I had to find something different. My wife and I married at age 22 in 2013, and with 2 kids and more on the way, I needed something to support my family better. So, in 2019, I started Immaculate Lightscapes. It began as a side hustle, which was difficult to run out of our apartment but still doable. But it provided more for us than the other jobs didn’t, especially the freedom to have more family time. Read More>>
Nate Kear
Before opening TruBlue in 2021, I was an Engineering Manager for Cooper Tire. I performed many roles at Cooper and was there for over 22 years. However, over the past few years, I have been searching for a new challenge, wanting to leave the corporate world and find something more meaningful. I stumbled upon the franchise TruBlue and was intrigued. I always had skills in carpentry and home repairs, and their mission to truly improve the lives of seniors stuck with me. After several months of inquiry and praying about it, I decided to plunge into business ownership and bought a TruBlue Franchise here in San Antonio. One in four seniors has a fall every year. Our goal is to help reduce that sobering statistic here in SA! We opened the doors in July 2021 and have been steadily growing month over month. We perform all types of handyman and remodeling work for anyone and everyone. Still, we have a specialty and expertise in helping seniors and people with disabilities with safety projects around the home. This could be simple grab bars, ramps, widening doorways, flooring modifications, or full bath remodels. We are certified aging-in-place specialists (CAPS Certified) passionate about helping seniors and disabled people. Read More>>
Paula VM
I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have always been involved in the arts and entertainment industries. I attended art school as a fashion design major but always had my camera in hand. I met my husband while I was pursuing acting {he is also in the entertainment industry}; he happened to have been trained in photography and was shooting film. He took headshots of me, and I told him I was interested in learning more about photography, and he immediately got me my first digital camera. He taught me what he could, and then I learned by trial and error. After I felt comfortable with my digital camera, I also learned to shoot film. I started taking actors’ headshots {as many were my friends} and then began shooting models, where my fashion design experience came in handy. In 2017, we moved to Texas. My husband was born here. We settled in Boerne, and I started shooting from home, focusing on beautiful portraiture for women and their families until I got a studio space in town. I still create beautiful heirloom portraiture for women and headshots and branding. I was asked to be a preferred wedding vendor for the brand new wedding venue, The Ironwood Barn, at Von Erich Ranch in Boerne. I have had a successful time, and I am grateful for that. Read More>>
Regina Hughes
One of the most beautiful things about growing up is meeting different versions of yourself along the way and loving each one. While I’ve transformed many times, the consistent threads in my life have always been building community through special events and fostering education.
I earned my English and Secondary Education Degree from a Liberal Arts School in a Chicago suburb. Since I entered college as a commuting student, I needed to foster connections with my peers. Outsiders constantly told me I would struggle to find friends as a commuting student, and I set out to prove them very wrong. To that end, I became a commuter assistant whose job was to ensure that all commuting students would be able to find their niche, and I began planning events specifically for that population. Read More>>
