Neartown’s Rising Stars

Kathryn Hinnant

Art and design has always been a huge influence in my life. I deeply discovered it when I started high-school and began pursuing it heavily for my remaining years of school and throughout college. While I was working throughout college, I quickly discovered that I was put in a creative box in each job I encountered. I understood why, but it left me feeling unsatisfied and craving more. So I vowed to myself that one day, I would own my own company and be able to truly express my creativity in the ways I wanted to. So that is exactly what I did. Monarch began as a side-hustle towards the end of my college career. I was helping create content for a few clients and managing their social media(s) while I was at school. From there it continued to blossom and flourish and Monarch Atelier was born. Well, in a sense. It took me a while to figure out how to brand MYSELF and what I wanted my company’s message/purpose to be and how we were going to serve our clients. So it was a long process but that is how I got to where I am today. Monarch Atelier continues to thrive and grow at an exponential rate and I am excited to see what 2022 has in store. Read more>>

Marlo Saucedo

Creative work – art and writing – were always fun for me, but I got to where I am today in a very roundabout way. In college psychology and languages were my major and minor. After college I got a job in Washington, DC with an agency called the International Catholic Migration Commission, working closely with the UNHCR. At the time we were repatriating people of my own age, those born to American soldiers in Vietnam. The work was interesting and rewarding but Texas called and I went back to school for my MBA at UT Austin. It wasn’t an easy degree, especially for someone without an undergrad finance or accounting degree, and I thought about quitting. Creative outlets – like auditing art classes and DJing at KVRX – became all-important to me and these loves have never let go. Read more>>

Morgan Johnson

I’ve always been interested in art. Before I was two, I was making unusual art from the things around me…newspapers, books, sticky notes. Because I couldn’t hear, perhaps my art was a way for me to try to communicate with the world around me. But by the time I was five, it seemed apparent that I might actually have some talent. My family supported my art interests with art classes, a mountain of art supplies, various trips to hobby stores and enthusiastic praise for my art forms. It seemed to be as much fun for them as it was for me. By the time I was in middle school I began expressing an interest in entrepreneurship. I first got a personal loan from my family to buy wholesale snacks, which I began selling after school. I offered snacks that were supposed to be healthy but I admit they didn’t sell nearly as well as the salty or sugary snacks. Read more>>

Markesha Wattree

Nearly 15 years ago, I decided to leave the business world to become a teacher. I made the switch to education and never looked back! I spent approximately ten years teaching a range of grade levels. I found great joy and purpose in teaching, yet I wanted to do more. I supplemented and added things to the curriculum often. There were tons of gaps, and frequently the lessons didn’t meet my students where they were. They didn’t adequately prepare them to succeed beyond the next benchmark or state test. Many of the students I encountered were severely below grade-level academically, but they were brilliant and beyond capable. Why were they so far behind? What should I do to get them where they need to be? How can I do this without putting unnecessary stress on these babies? I spent countless nights and weekends creating activities, lessons and strategizing how to give them what they needed. I failed many times. Not every lesson worked, but the children trusted me to show up and do my best each day. That’s what I did, and I asked the same of them. We learned together. We found things that worked. I learned so much from my students. I still wanted to do more. I wanted to help create change on a larger scale. Read more>>

Tierra White

I have always been into skincare and body care all my life! I just never had it in mind to obtain my license to become an esthetician. I just knew that I wanted to be able to provide skincare products as a business because growing up I had horrible acne skin. I knew I wanted to be able to make a difference in proving a product that will help ease acne skin. Because of this desire, I would ask my esthetician so many questions when I would go to my appointment for my personal services and one day she asked “Tierra why won’t you go get licensed? You’re so educated and interested in this field.” Read more>>

Destiny Scott-Gobert

It all started when I begin to dive deeper into health and fitness! I would go into a smoothie bar near my job that offered energy teas, meal replacement smoothies, and more. The energy I felt was always amazing and I love the way the healthy energy drinks made me feel. So, I begin praying and thinking on how my community could benefit so much if I could bring it to them (a healthier way of living). However, my commitment to my job at the time, wouldn’t allow me the time to put a plan in place. Read more>>

Karim Alhakim

My story is not the most interesting. I often describe it in two metaphors. My goal has been to be like a Swiss Army knife; a tool with many functions (skills). With it, you can do lots of things (help your community in different ways). It’s like a math equation. 2 X 10 = 20. I am the 2. And the 10 is the resources, relationships, and experiences I feel so lucky to have been gaining in America. That’s why I think of myself as a tool. Also a product of my experiences. This product was made In Egypt and Assembled in America. I moved to America at the age of 18. and since then I had a variety of jobs that I loved; here is a list of them. Read more>>

Melody Johnson

Growing up my mom was very sick. That situation is what made me. I had to grow up early, learn life lessons early, and become a provider. I used to be upset to the fact that I never had my mom there for me to support me at extra curriculum activities but it wasn’t until adulthood I realized it was those hurdles that allowed me to be successful. I currently have a successful trucking business and I am on track to become the first Black woman to own a trucking school in the city of Houston. Life has not been easy for me overcoming poverty, illness, and abuse. In, 2010 I was able to turn my life around. I was in a domestic relationship which led me to leave my hometown, Detroit, MI. Read more>>

Claudia Summers

I have been a Registered Nurse for over 25 years. After working in the hospital setting for so long I became very burnt out and it took a tremendous toll on my health. I had to figure a way to do what I love without the physical demands of bedside nursing. My gifts have always been compassion and empathy so I decided to follow my dream of being an entrepreneur. I decided to continue nursing, but in a more creative way. I did not have a sophisticated business plan or any business acumen to speak of. The only asset that I had was my home so I decided to use a part of my house as a personal care home. I started with just one client and have now grown to having three multi-bed personal care homes. my goal was always to share with others how to provide that special caring and how to do it right. Read more>>

Kemi OG

My journey with Afrodance started with a promise not to forget how to dance makossa. It was this popular move in Nigeria at the time, never mind that the move was actually Congolese and makossa was a completely different dance style from Cameroon. We didn’t care, we were kids and it was the latest move to master. I would always revert to it whenever Premier Gaou by Magic system came on and personally, it was a finishing move when it came to dancing competitions. I spent so much time trying to get my waist and legs right that when the news came that we were moving to the United States (after I had mastered the move enough to win a few dance champion titles at the birthday parties) I promised that I would not forget the feeling of that move and by extension, I wouldn’t forget the girl who was addicted to suya, drank la-casera like water, and was addicted to moving to music. Read more>>