Our Stories
J-L Stories
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Jack's Story
Jack reflects on his transition from high school to college and how this shaped his understanding of friendships, self-worth, and belonging. From not fitting into a rugby team and struggling to find genuine people around him, a wake-up call and a new friend led him to understand his self-worth, connect back with a true friend, and carry those lessons along with him, this time with good people around him.
Jake's Story
Jake reflects on two similar scenarios he has encountered with bees and how that has made him realize the power of one’s own mindset when it comes to handling situations differently. He talks about how he keeps a positive mindset which has translated into looking at things in a more gratifying way and spreading positivity in other aspects of his life.
Janet's Story
Janet gives voice to her late older brother Jay and recalls the significant impact he has had on her early life and professional career despite struggling in his adolescence and growing up in a time where it was unlawful to be self assured about your homosexuality. This is a story about love and loss but touching upon hope in freedom of self expression in culture today.
Jessie's Story
Jessie’s visit to an Ashram for her friend turned out to be a life-changing experience. She had witnessed what she described as golden filaments of light connecting people in a garden, which, when she came back home, made her feel alive, and she found herself drawn toward this community for several years. While still being a little skeptical, she learned to try and approach the most painful moments of life with love, which shifted her attitude, and she gives credit to this, making her a happier individual. Around this time, another eventful program, she experienced, Al-Anon, which is a twelve-step program which is for families of those struggling with alcohol addiction, which was the case with her then husband. This pushed her to untangle herself from codependency and understand herself for the first time. These two experiences together taught her essential lessons about letting things go that aren’t in her control and focusing on present things with good energy is what lightens the weight of being yourself.
Jonathan Dee's Story
Jonathan shares his special connection with his family and how they have been a major influence in his life, from his brothers to his mom and dad. He touches upon his love for his parents supporting him through sports and making sure he was reaching his fullest potential growing up. With deep gratitude for his mother and everything she had overcome in her early life, he expresses the kind of person and a great appreciation of who she is.
Josh's Story
Josh shares his dedication and identity to football at college and wanting to succeed in his athletic career, only to realize that it was taking him away from his academics. When Covid hit, which was brought with a year spent at home, he decided to change his focus from football towards his studies on Public Health. Leaving your past self may be hard, but it’s the sacrifice to limitless possibilities.
Judy's Story
Jessica interviews Judy about her relationship with her mother, delving into Judy's past through letters exchanged between them from childhood to adulthood. As Judy revisits these correspondences, she navigates the highs and lows of their relationship, exploring the deep bond between mother and daughter.
Kaela's Story
Kaela expresses how running has been a fundamental part of her life since she was younger but has really unfolded for her as she was in high school and college to something she really loves to do. Over the years, her relationship with running and the community she has formed with it has grown into something that holds a special place for her to continue wherever she ends up in the future.
Katherine's Story
Katherine talks about her family heritage and values and how that impacted her views on the world. She discusses how her upbringing and playing music with her siblings brings them closer together. Katherine also details how the values that she was raised with are still instilled in her and are instilled in her children as well.
Kathleen Becker's Story
Kathleen describes her path to becoming a speech pathologist. She describes her experience growing up with her younger sister Margaret Mary who was born with cerebral palsy. As a child she tried to find ways to help her sister learn to speak. Later, she took her first speech pathology course in college, and went on to work in a private practice and at an elementary school.
Kathy's Story
Kathy reflects on her journey to becoming a nurse practitioner, shaped by early aspirations to be a doctor and barriers such as her father’s belief that higher education wasn’t necessary for girls. Despite challenges, she pursued nursing, continued her education, and eventually entered a nurse practitioner program with encouragement from mentors. Her career focused on working with individuals with intellectual disabilities, where she found purpose in serving marginalized populations and navigating the complexities of real-world care. Looking back, she feels deeply fulfilled and proud of her path, valuing both the impact of her work and the personal growth it brought.
Katie's Story
Katie reflects on several influential “teachers,” including authors, spiritual leaders, and educators, who shaped her personal growth. Inspired by ideas like living in the present moment, mindfulness, and self-compassion, she learned to better support herself emotionally and break patterns from her upbringing. She also gained insight into communication, particularly the importance of understanding underlying human needs beneath emotions. Overall, these influences have helped her grow, improve relationships, and approach life with greater awareness and purpose.
Linda's Story
Linda discusses the various relationships with people she calls family. Some are blood-related,
while others are connected through the deep bonds she has built over time. She explores the
uniqueness of her familial circumstances and reflects on how these relationships have impacted
not only the love she has experienced over the years, but also how these experiences and
connections have shaped her into the person she is today.
Liya's Story
Liya Liang speaks with Nina Kleinberg about her experiences attending a preparatory boarding school and leaving all she knew behind. The two discuss the effects that it had on her life reflecting on the aspects of race, class, and socioeconomic status had on her experience during her four years.
Lizzy's Story
Lizzy reflects on her journey from hating school as a child due to struggles with confusing curriculum changes and being doubted by educators to gradually finding her footing academically. After being told college might not be the right path, she used that doubt as motivation to prove her capabilities. Although her first semester in college was challenging, discovering public health (specifically epidemiology) transformed her perspective and made learning enjoyable. Now accepted into a master’s program in epidemiology, she feels proud of how far she’s come and how she turned skepticism into success.
