My Community Sustains Me
Ruth Zuñiga grew up in a rural, evangelical Christian town in Costa Rica. Both restricted and supported by her community, she eventually set out on her own,
Author: Monica Salazar
In Search of Blue Jean Dreams
Growing up poor in the mountains of Romania, Anna Giurgiev dreamed of a young man in strange blue pants. She didn’t know that this dream boy was her
When I’m Playing, I’m Just Heat
The first time Denzel Mendoza came out as undocumented he was on stage in front of a crowd of strangers. That night, he didn’t just play his trombone,
The Ingredients of Leadership
Although today she is recognized as one of Portland’s best-known chefs, Nong Poonsukwattana confesses that as a child, “I didn’t think (cooking) was
There Is More Than One Way
“I’ve never been a person who had a plan about what they’d be doing in 10 years,” says Susheela Jayapal, Multnomah County’s District 2 Commissioner. “I just do
Performing with a Purpose
Within a matter of months, Joe Kye had gone from teaching English in a high school classroom to playing his music at open mics in local dive bars.
The Hard Way Can Be What Saves You
Yamini Rajan was 12 the first time she heard her father cry. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he saw the scars covering Yamini’s thighs and arms.
Sketching a Life in Secret
Nothing about the financial world interested Sarah Rikaz. The only tie she could find between her passion and the career her parents wanted for her was
Let Nothing Hold You Back
Beneath the star-studded sky of Makamba, Burundi, 6-month-old Olive Bukuru clung to her father’s hip as they fled on foot for roughly 100 miles to Tanzania.
A Lifetime Across Canvases
Even in primary school, Farooq Hassan remembers, “I would copy pictures of cartoons or pictures of kings and presidents of that time.”