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.

Melanie TheBeautiful | Interior Designer and Color Extraordinaire

I’m from Albany, GA. I grew up in a family of 95% successful business owners. My grandfather’s, grandfather’s, grandfathers were carpenters. So I grew up around building homes and interior design as a kid. Entrepreneurship is a staple in our family, yet, I NEVER wanted to be an entrepreneur. Read more>>

Akeem Tulinagwe | Photographer

I have lived in Gwinnett County since I was 6 years old, but I was born in Lithonia. Moving to Gwinnett was a rough move since I was just about the only African American in my school and classes, but I never let that phase me. Read more>>

Candi Miller | Designer

I was born in Savannah, Georgia in March of 1967. Savannah is a beautiful city overflowing with rich architecture and history. Savannah is known for it’s many different architectural styles of homes, from Georgian to Gothic Revival. Read more>>

Chinwe’ Foster | Owner and Managing Attorney of Foster Law Firm

I was born in Africa…in Nigeria. When I was about 7 years old, my family moved to Columbus, Ohio which is where I grew up. As Nigerians, one of the many things that was impressed upon me by my parents was that if I studied and worked hard at anything I put my mind to, that I could be the best at it. Read more>>

Emily Nicolaides | Artist, Author & Weaver

I was born in Virginia to a multicultural family. My mom is American and my dad is Greek-Cypriot. Growing up, I felt torn between my two cultures. Like I was two different people that never fit in anywhere. Then I found weaving and that all changed. I finally saw how the two parts of my heritage merge to make me, much like the warp and weft are woven together to make cloth. Read more>>

Sarai Thompson | Founder and CEO of Luxe & Chic Company

I love telling people my backstory. I feel like a hybrid in a way. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts and my family and I moved to Atlanta, GA a few weeks after the 96′ Olympics (and for those who know their history, they’ll know Atlanta was the home of the Olympics in 96′). Read more>>

Essie Moore | Dr. Essie Moore, Professional Cosmetologist & Author

My name is Essie Moore, I was born and raised in Paris, a small town in Northeast Texas. I was the fifth child, and that made me perhaps “The baby of the family”. I was somewhat spoiled to being called the baby girl. Read more>>

Toni Simmons Henson | Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Co-founder & Exec. Producing Director, Speaker, Spoken Word Poet & Author

I am a graduate of Howard University and NYU, wife, mother of four, and serial entrepreneur who found herself in financial ruin after a failed franchised business venture during the economic recession of 2008-10. Despondent and depressed from suffering a six-figure loss, I lay awake at night, reflecting on how this experience had impacted my family. I’d lost everything we’d built over the last 22 years: including our savings, investments, and even the children’s college fund. Read more>>

M. Cody (Cody) Wiley | Cartoonist and Designer for Animation

I’m originally from a small town just outside of Detroit, Michigan. I come from a predominantly working-class family, so when I graduated high school and first started attending college, I didn’t really know where I should start or have a good idea of what career I wanted to pursue. I decided to start at Henry Ford College, a local community college, to see if it was right for me and to try and figure out a career that spoke to me. Read more>>

Zeal Eva | Visual Explorer

I was born in Brooklyn, and raised both there and in Bethlehem, PA (a suburb about an hour away from the city). I think being able to be from both a fast bustling lifestyle and one that is slow and quiet, greatly shaped who i am as a person, what I”m interested in and what i’m inspired by. Read more>>

Gabrielle Scott | Theatre-maker & Creative Wellness Coach

I am from a twin isle in the Caribbean, Trinidad & Tobago, also known as ‘Sweet T&T’. T & T is the land of Calypso, Soca, steelpan and the most world renowned Carnival. Our unique history makes us the most culturally diverse country in the Caribbean which directly impacts our music,film and theatre industry. Read more>>

Scooby | Music Artist

I’m from Atlanta, Ga specifically Clayton County. My dad is a 2x Grammy nominated songwriter and has written for many artists so that played a big role in me wanting to do music and write as well as produce songs. I have always wanted to do music and be an artist. Read more>>

Keisha Barnes | Business Owner, and Creator

Iam from Columbia,SC. I grew up on a dirt road, very humble beginnings. Looking back some May consider it a rural area, but in my eyes we were rich because I never lacked anything. I spent a lot of my time with my grandmother and a lot of the elders in the community. Read more>>

Antalaya Israel | Business Owner & CEO

I’m from Brooklyn, NY and I have always seen the adults around me work very hard to provide for their families. I grew up in a family where my mother and father made sure that we would never need anything but would never let us know how little they had. I knew at a pretty young age that we didn’t have much and I always wonder how we still had Christmases, etc. Read more>>

Brooke Odle | Assistant Professor of Engineering

I’m from New York City. Growing up, my family instilled the importance of education and helping our community. I was initially interested in medicine. I was deciding between pediatrics and physical medical and rehabilitation. Read more>>

Pierre Burrell | Actor

My name is Pierre Burrell & I’m from Madison, Wisconsin. I was born & raised with both parents in the household, so my background & upbringing was full of love & discipline. Seeing how my father & mother work their way up to where they’re today is how I approach my life. Read more>>

Anne Ngugi | Project manager and Entrepreneur

I was born and raised Kenya, lived in Boston for 11 years and moved to Atlanta during the pandemic. Coming from an African household with a single mother impacted who I am today. My mother worked around the clock when we first moved from Kenya, my siblings became my responsibility therefore I did not have much of a childhood. This made me responsible extremely Mature and resilient. Read more>>

Anjari Carter | Musician, Chef, and Herbalist

I’m from the peach state, Georgia. More specifically I’m from Rockmart Georgia, Northwest of Atlanta. Other metro areas have been part of my upbringing also but, I call Rockmart home. Being a person of African descent and staying in Georgia has given me a unique experience. Read more>>

Kenne Johnson | CEO/Founder & Marketing Specialist

I was born in Ontario, California and grew up in a small town called Lake Los Angeles in the Antelope Valley. When I was 4 years old, my mother decided to get licensed to open an in-home child care. Read more>>

Mack2Tone | Recording artist

I am from Athens Georgia. Born and raised. My background truly shaped me into the being that I am today. I am a firm believer in roots and development at a young age, so I find it extremely critical to set the standard during the process of youth to ensure a successful life. Read more>>

Shaquan Coburn | Creative Director/ Designer

I’m from Mansfield, Ohio. My background has taught me a lot, I lived in the Midwest, surrounded by cornfields and land. Heavy winters. Ohio has always reminded to be humble and never forget where I come from! Read more>>

Aaron Jordan | SouthernSoul/RnB/Music Artist

My hometown is Montgomery, Alabama and I was raised in a single parent household by my mother who worked hard to take care of four children (which included me and my twin brother). Being that we grew up in church my twin and I found love in singing which inspired us to pursue music as a career. Read more>>

Tangia Seward | Owner of Black Girl Hug & Creator of Black Girl Business Accelerator

I am a Brooklyn native & I lived there until the age of 14 before moving to Virginia. Being from NY helped me to learn grit & hustle, but living in Virginia helped me to learn finesse. Read more>>

Sonya Everett | Singer Songwriter and Tech Client Care Specialist

I’m adopted, born in LA and I’ve moved around 5 times because of my dads job. Since moving out at 18 I’ve moved around 6 more times. I never felt like I fit in or more importantly I didn’t accept myself as I was. I was constantly comparing who I was to everyone else. When I started making music, I made it with the intention of creating songs I needed to hear when I was younger. I continue to do this and use my music to heal my inner child and give myself a place to land, no matter where I am. Read more>>

Thea de Sousa | Writer and content creator on Instagram

I grew up on a farm in rural Western Massachusetts. I have seven siblings. We didn’t have any money for utilities or groceries when I was growing up so we had to depend on animals and gardens to sustain us. We had to churn our own butter, make our own bread, heat our whole house with one tiny wood stove, and ride a bicycle to do laundry. And, we had no television. Read more>>