Where you grew up and your background can often have surprising effects on our lives and careers. We’ve asked folks from the community to tell us about how their background has affected them.

Primal USA | Taking the MidWest by storm one drop at a time.

I’m from Panama City Beach, FL. My background is sometimes hard to talk about. but the way I grew up gets the opportunity to speak through my music often. The darker more aggressive energy in some of my sound design really showcases some of the more painful things that speak through my creative. Read more>>

Ben Ewell | Attorney & Developer

I was born on a small family farm near Brighton Ohio. Due to have no running water or a bathroom, it taught me how to be self sufficient and appreciate the little things in life from a young age. During the spring, summer and fall I spent almost all my time outdoors and this gave me an appreciation for nature and for all the blessings in my life even today. Read more>>

Jasper Martin | Artist

I’m from Ohio, in the sense that I was raised here, but I was born in Illinois — which meant a lot of summers road-tripping out there to stay at my grandparents’ farm growing up. As a result, I’ve always felt a tie to nature, plants, and being out in the middle of nowhere, alone, enjoying the quiet. A lot of my paintings reflect the serenity I find in places like gardens, hills, farms, and forests, away from so much of society. My upbringing, in a word, was multicultural. The further you go back into my family’s background the more mixed it becomes, between my midwestern mother’s side and my father’s cultural roots in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Read more>>

Anthony Sitek | Chef and Owner, Crown Restaurant Group

Like any full-blooded Italian from New Jersey, I have to start with my grandma. It’s alongside her in the kitchen that I first discovered my passion for food and how it brings people together. She also showed me how cooking-from-scratch not only enhances the food’s flavor and quality, but also teaches you to never let anything go to waste. Read more>>

Catalina CELIS Reasoner | Art Director and Creator of Magical Worlds

I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, in a family of five children where art, literature, and music were our daily bread and butter. On weekdays, we would wake up with classical music playing throughout the house. I could almost see the musical notes floating in the air and being transported out the windows by light rays. Only to be mixed with the chirping of mom’s canaries creating the most magnificent morning symphony. Once you were up and ready to start your day, you would head to the kitchen for breakfast, walking through the open spaces of our magical house, which was half connected with the outside world. Read more>>

Camela Jones | Dream Weaver, Event/Wedding Planner

I’m from Gem City! Born in Dayton Ohio, proudly! My father was in the Navy so I did grow up in Jacksonville Florida 2yrs old to 13. And moved back to Dayton in my early teens. Growing up in the Midwest & south have both played a pivotal role in my nature of “never meeting a stranger” & that spirit of hospitality that carry with me. My grandparents hosted parties & family members all the time. I grew up with all my cousins, playing, eating good food and seeing our family socialize was natural for me. I’ve always loved gathering with people & enjoying the art of celebrations. Dayton Ohio was the setting for me. Read more>>