Even if you are from the same neighborhood as someone else, you might still be coming from different places. Where you are from is a complicated question and it elicits complicated, but interesting and thought-provoking responses. We’ve shared some of those responses below.

Mikayla Hicks

I was born and raised here in Dallas, TX. Duncanville to be specific. I was raised by a single mother with 2 children who always made sure we never needed for anything. She has always set an amazing example for my sister and I, to be God-fearing women and to make sure we are always able to take care of ourselves no matter what. She is someone who strongly shaped me into the person that I am today. This is how I am able to do a lot of the things that I do, she showed me that I could go after anything that I set my mind to-which is exactly what I did! Read More>>

Jenifer Piña

I am from Fort Worth Texas, My parents are from El Salvador.
My mother was a single parent to my older brother and myself. My mother is my biggest role model, seeing how she worked multiple Jobs to give my brother and I the best life in a country where not only she was unfamiliar with but also did not speak the language.
My childhood was tough, But I do believe that molded me into who I am today. Driven and ambitious. Read More>>

Haylee Salopek

I’m from Las Cruces, New Mexico, where I grew up on my family’s pecan farm. Being raised in such a stunning landscape—surrounded by sweeping deserts, towering mountains, and endless rows of trees—instilled in me a deep reverence for everyday beauty. From a young age, I was mesmerized by simple, fleeting moments: the trees swaying in the wind on a breezy spring day, or golden light spilling across the desert during a summer sunset. Read More>>

Dr. Tonya Stafford

I’m from Dallas, Texas specifically Bonton and Dixon Circle in South Dallas places that has shaped me in both challenging and empowering ways. I was born into circumstances that most people can’t imagine, but my foundation was my grandmother, who instilled strength in me from an early age. As a survivor of human trafficking, sold by my own mother at the age of 13, those years were marked by trauma, survival, and silence. But a fire that was always inside of me didn’t burn out instead, it grew stronger. It gave me resilience, love empathy, sympathy, compassion, and most importantly—a purpose that guides everything I do today. Read More>>