Leticia Wiggins

Miguel Tucker, 30, grew up in Columbus. As a kid, he says, he spent a lot of time around negative influences.

During an early shift at FedEx, Danavan McIntosh made his way down a tall ladder. He'd done it a million times before. This time, he felt himself falling.

Amanda Wisniewski discovered her niche while processing specimens at medical testing company, LabCorp.

“I found what I wanted to do forever, because something just clicked,” she says. “Working on the robotics and fixing the problems, it was the highlight of my day.”

Dashawn Hodge is just a normal 14-year-old boy who hates cutting the grass.

“My mom told me when I get home, I gotta cut the grass,” he says. “I looked at her like, ‘No, I can’t cut the grass!”

Driving a semi-truck is a job that gives you plenty of time to think – too much, actually, for Jordan Washington. He says the job paid well, and it was fun in the beginning until the monotony sunk in.

“But then after a while, I’m just like, 'O.K., I’m bored. This is not for me,’” Washington says.

Like most kids, Erica Miller loved riding the merry-go-round when she was little.  Her mom took her often to the one at the Columbus Zoo. Miller was always more interested in the gears than the ponies, though.