Through our work we have had the good fortune of seeing firsthand how success comes in every shape, size, color, faith, and orientation. More importantly we’ve learned that success is often the result of people embracing their unique backgrounds and so we’ve asked the community to tell us about their background and how it has impacted where they are today.

Cassidy Stubbs | Photographer & Media Influencer

I was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. Once a small city that grew rapidly into a popular tourist destination. As a little girl I would have never guessed that my hometown would be a place that people would visit. Greenville is a beautiful city full of good people, great restaurants, and gorgeous scenery. I knew I needed to take advantage of my cities growth. At the age of 16 I started working on building a resume. I was still in high school at the time so I couldn’t jump onto a career quite yet, but I sought out new opportunities within the fine dining restaurant industry. While I was working and in school I created a side hobby in photography that later turned into something I knew I wanted to pursue in the future. Greenville was a good start, but I was eager to seek out even more opportunity. After I graduated high school I received an acceptance letter from my dream college. I am proud to say that I am currently a student at the College of Charleston majoring in Communication and double minoring in Psychology and Studio Art. For our Studio Art program you are required to pick a concentration and I chose photography. As of today I am working on pursuing a career in photojournalism. My major in Communication has helped me improve on writing, speaking, media, and research skills. My minor in Psychology has helped me understand my audience and the impact that media has on them. My minor in Studio Art has helped me develop a greater knowledge in both film and digital photography. Read more>>

Jose Romero | Artist and architect

I am originally from Honduras. Was brought to New Jersey at the age of 10 and then to upstate NY at 13. This is where I credit my upbringing to, Schenectady NY. In Honduras I grew up a rich kid with everything, as my father had his own law firm and my mother was an assistant principal. We had savings coming to the US but they quickly went away and then we struggled in upstate NY. I started working at a very early age, and I credit necessity, and wanting to have nice things for myself as I did in Honduras, with giving me the push to work. While in High School in Schenectady, I took up art and architecture classes. My parents tried dissuading me from pursuing art, but I ended up studying architecture at Pratt Institute, which is ranked 6th in the world as an art school, so there it began… I studied art and architecture for a semester in Rome, Italy. This experience really opened up my inspiration towards painting. I started painting in the fall of 99′, when I got back to New York for my senior year. I now have an artistic career (and my ultimate goal is to become a full time artist), and practice architecture, designing about 2 or 3 projects a year. My full time job is in Hendersonville, working for Lightsett, a fiber optics engineering firm. So as you can see, the struggle from early on is what fueled my fire. We struggled to pay the rent in my teenage years, and from that time on I distanced myself from asking too much of my parents and now find myself working in 3 different disciplines. Read more>>

Lisa Cyckowski | Artist

I was born and raised in Fanwood, NJ where I lived, raised a family . Then, in the Spring of 2022 my husband and I were seeking a unique place to retire to. After visiting a friend in Travelers Rest, SC, we were hooked! Upstate SC met our needs and love for nature, mountains, our avid interest in motorcycling, as well as my own personal artistic flair and need to connect with a thriving and diverse art community. Read more>>