“Growing up I definitely looked up to Dominique Moceanu. She was my favorite gymnast and she was on that '96 Olympic team. She was always so fun to watch. I kind of wanted to model my career after hers.” KindWantedFunCareersWatchesGrowing UpGrowingTeamModelsMy FavoriteGymnast Author:Alicia Sacramone
“I felt like the luckiest kid in the world. And I was. I was growing up middle-class in a time when growing up middle-class in America meant there would be jobs for my parents, good schools for me to prepare myself for a career, and, if I worked hard and played by the rules, a chance for me to do anything I wanted.” IfsWorldHardWould BeKidsWantedSchoolJobsAmericaFeltParentChanceClassCareersGrowing UpGrowingMiddleMiddle ClassGood School Author:Al Franken
“You know what happens to guys? There's what I call the individual time of their career, and the team time of their career. This is the team time. You don't care about all the other stuff. You just want to live in one place, and watch your kids grow up and go to the same school. You say, 'Hey, maybe I'd better play well and be a good enough guy that they keep me.'” KnowsWantWellsEnoughPlayHappensCareKidsSchoolGuyIndividualGrowsStuffCareersWatchesGrowing UpTeamDon't CareHeyGood EnoughNhl Author:Mike Babcock
“Being funny wasn't a career choice growing up, it was my way out of situations; a way to survive another day.” WayChoicesSituationCareersGrowing UpGrowingMy WayAnother DayBeing FunnyCareers Choices Book:I Am the New Black Source: I Am the New Black
“I pretty much started out writing full time. I was an at-home mom and when my youngest entered kindergarten, I started writing. I was 35, and before that I really hadn't written at all. Which means, I guess, that a) it's never too late to start a writing career (or any career you really want) and b) it's OK to get to your mid-30s and still not know what you want to be when you grow up.” KnowsWantWritingMeanStillsHomeGrowsCareersGrowing UpWrittenMomLateWhat You WantToo LateKindergartenNever Too Late Author:Elizabeth Hoyt
“I am an Asian designer. I was born in Taiwan. That is who I am. But I am a designer, like any designer of any race. Growing up in the '80s in Taiwan, the arts were not considered a career.” ArtBornRaceCareersGrowing UpGrowingWho I AmDesigner80sAsianTaiwan Author:Jason Wu
“The word ‘philanthropy’ brings up an image of somebody who’s had an illustrious career, has retired and is giving to highly established institutions that may or may not have ivy growing up their walls. I personally have felt the need to give philanthropy a reboot.” NeedsGivingMayFeltCareersGrowing UpGrowingWallInstitutionsPhilanthropyRetiredIvy Author:Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
“I had parents who were working actors, who did really well in their careers, but it was a living. So it was a reality for me growing up; it wasn't a fantasy. It wasn't sitting there going, "I want to be adored." It wasn't that at all. Not to say that the screams of fans aren't a smile-raiser, but that was never the pull for me.” WantWellsRealityActorsParentCareersFantasyGrowing UpGrowingFansSittingScream Author:Benedict Cumberbatch
“It was a real honor for me to get to be the first woman astronaut. I think it's really important that young girls that are growing up today can see that women can be astronauts too. There have actually been a lot of women, who are astronauts, that that's a career that's open to them.” ThinkingFirstsImportantRealTodayYoungGirlCareersGrowing UpGrowingHonorAstronaut Author:Sally Ride