I didn't set out to specialize in Third Culture Kids and expat families. I set out to be a therapist. But life has a way of making your education for you whether you plan it or not. When my husband's career took us overseas, I became genuinely curious about something I was living firsthand: what does it do to a child to grow up between cultures? What happens to a person's sense of identity when they don't belong fully anywhere? I watched my own son navigate that in real time, across six countries and nearly two decades. I volunteered, I observed, I connected with families carrying the same questions I was. One of the most disorienting questions you can ask a Third Culture Kid is the simplest one: where are you from? For most people it's small talk. For a child raised between worlds it can feel like an impossible test with no right answer. My son lived that confusion. I watched it shape him. And it taught me something I carry into my work every single day, that the need to belong, and the pain of feeling like you don't, is universal. You don't have to grow up between countries to feel like you don't fit. You just have to be a kid who doesn't match the mold someone else decided you should fill. I see those children in my office every week; kids who are grieving, struggling, or simply trying to figure out who they are in a world that keeps telling them who they should be. My years abroad gave me the eyes to see them clearly and the instinct to sit with them without trying to fix what was never broken in the first place. Curiosity about one specific experience quietly became a calling for something much bigger.

Navigating the VA disability claims process was harder than rappelling down a wall or finishing a 17-mile ruck march in the Army. At least in the military, you were given training to know the mission, the chain of command, and how to obtain success. With the VA, it often feels like you are dropped into the middle of chaos with no map, no briefing, and no backup. Initially, I just wanted to know why I kept getting denied while only a very small number of people around me seemed to get approved. But the more I looked into it, the more I realized I was not alone. Veterans all around me were getting denied, underrated, or simply giving up because the process was too confusing, too frustrating, and too overwhelming. What angered me most was realizing that many veterans were not losing because they did not deserve benefits. They were losing because they did not know how to tell their story, connect the evidence, or fight through a system that seemed designed to wear them down until they gave up. What started as frustration turned into obstinance. Obstinance turned into research. Research turned into helping other veterans. One conversation turned into ten. Ten turned into late-night phone calls, stacks of records, regulations, and strategy. Before I knew it, I had turned my frustration into a mission. That mission became Boots 2 Benefits, my consulting firm dedicated to helping veterans navigate unfamiliar waters, receive the benefits they earned, and avoid paying for the same mistakes twice. I learned the VA disability battlefield so they do not have to learn it the hard way. I wrote an easy-to-follow book, Boots 2 Benefits: Operation FUBAR, created a free workbook to help veterans work through Operation FUBAR, and built dozens of free resources and helpful materials on my website. No Veteran Left Behind; not on my watch.

I did not become successful because life was always easy!! I became that woman because I stayed resilient through every season. I learned how to rise after setbacks, stay focused during uncertainty, and keep moving forward when things did not go as planned. Every challenge strengthened me, every lesson refined me, and every step shaped me into a stronger, wiser, and better version of myself.

My interest in mental health started as a concerned wife and then a mother struggling to help her child. Today, as a business owner, I am rewarded daily connecting a new client to a professional counselor and helping them start their journey to health.

I wasn't always the person asking "why" out loud, but I was always wondering. When something didn't make sense, whether it was a team dynamic, a decision, or simply not knowing how to do something, I would go looking for the story underneath it. Sometimes that meant grabbing a book or listening to a podcast. Other times it meant enrolling in another degree program or finding a mentor who could help me see the bigger picture. That curiosity is what pulled me into the work I do today. Trying to understand people and how they move through change grew into a passion for helping teams find clarity, confidence, and alignment. It has shaped every role I have taken and every room I have stepped into. And now I do ask why. Not out of doubt, but out of a desire to make things better for the people around me. The spark is still there. It has simply grown into something much bigger than I ever expected.

For years, I believed success meant following a straight path checking the boxes, meeting expectations, and never stumbling. But the truth is, my biggest breakthroughs came from the moments that felt like detours. When a project failed, when a door closed, when I doubted myself those were the moments that forced me to pause, reassess, and rebuild with intention. I learned to stop chasing perfection and start honoring progress. I began asking myself better questions: What do I want to create? Who do I want to become? What impact do I want to leave behind? That shift changed everything. I stopped shrinking myself to fit into spaces and started building spaces where I could show up fully. Today, I measure success by alignment, not approval. By courage, not convenience. By the women I lift up along the way, not the titles on my résumé. My journey isn't linear, but it's mine and that's what makes it powerful.

What started as a simple idea (asking "What does your favorite song taste like?") evolved into a sold-out event and a powerful reminder that storytelling lives in shared experiences. What I initially envisioned as a small creative dinner series became a space where culture, nostalgia, food, and human connection all sit at the same table.

What started as a passion for helping people through some of the hardest moments of their lives grew into a mission behind Law Office of Lauryn Tully, a defense practice rooted in advocacy, mentorship, and second chances. I never expected criminal defense law to become not just my career, but a platform to educate, empower, and create real change for families, young people, and our community.

My passion has always been helping others, especially victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. I aim to advocate for those who have lost their voice, I speak for the voiceless, I help them to stand when they fall, I support when they need help, I fight for justice when they lose hope. We are all survivors.

Coincidentally, both of my careers actually started out as an interest/passion. I never expected my radio career to have expanded to what it is today. My initial plan was to move into television news, but my passion for radio was undeniable.

What started as curiosity about human behavior slowly became an obsession with understanding clarity, perception, and the invisible patterns shaping people's decisions, ambition, and direction. Over time, I realized that many high-functioning people are not lacking intelligence or capability. They are simply overwhelmed by noise, pressure, and disconnection from themselves.

What started as me just enjoying solving problems and bringing order to chaos turned into TopTier Onboarding Consulting where I now help businesses cut through complexity, build solid foundations, and scale with real confidence by turning big vision into clear, workable strategy. An interest in improving processes has grown into something much larger: a commitment to helping build stronger foundations, inspire confidence, and prove that even the smallest spark of passion can evolve into meaningful influence.

What started as a curiosity about how people learn eventually grew into a career centered around designing meaningful learning experiences. Early in my career as a science educator, I became fascinated not just with the content I was teaching, but with the challenge of finding new ways to connect with different students and learning styles. Each class required a different approach, and I was constantly adapting lessons, visuals, activities, and real-world examples to help learners stay engaged and feel confident in what they were learning. That curiosity gradually expanded beyond the classroom and led me into instructional design, where I discovered a field that blended education, creativity, psychology, technology, and problem-solving in a way that felt incredibly rewarding. What I value most about instructional design is the ability to create learning experiences intended for broader audiences while still keeping the learner at the center of every decision. I enjoy researching audience needs, collaborating with subject matter experts, and designing fully accessible learning experiences that feel practical, engaging, and relevant to a wide range of learners. Much of my work focuses on scenario-based learning and immediate application, helping learners connect information to realistic situations they may encounter in their professional or personal lives. Whether I'm developing emergency management training, healthcare-related learning experiences, or community-centered educational content, I'm continually inspired by the idea that thoughtful design can make learning more approachable, inclusive, and meaningful for everyone.

I've always been fascinated by medications, molecules, and the way the body responds to treatment. What started as curiosity turned into purpose when I began working in pharmacy and witnessed patients describe a new medication as life-changing. That's when I knew I wanted a career focused on making that kind of impact for others.

My career began with curiosity. I was always interested in how systems worked, how people accessed services, and how technology could make difficult processes easier. That curiosity grew as I moved through business operations, human services, and technology, where I saw firsthand how confusing systems could create barriers for both employees and the people they serve. What started as simply wanting to understand workflows turned into a passion for building better ones. ServiceNow became the space where everything clicked for me. I could combine problem-solving, process improvement, user experience, and technical development to create solutions that actually helped people work smarter. Over time, that curiosity pushed me to earn certifications, build custom applications, support implementations, learn automation, and step into roles where I could translate business needs into scalable platform solutions. It became bigger than a career move; it became a mission to use technology with purpose. Today, I see curiosity as one of my greatest strengths. It helped me move from asking, "How does this work?" to asking, "How can I make this better for others?"