From the NFL to the Opera
When Life Changes, Change your Dreams.
Ta’u Pupu’a grew up in Tonga playing football and singing in the school choir. His massive size and athletic drive propelled him to a career with the Baltimore Ravens. When an injury ended his playing time, he switched to his other passion: opera. Read Story
How Far Can Mind and Body Take You?
101 triathlons in as many days. That’s what the Iron Cowboy found out. How far can you go?
In the world of athletics, records are merely goals to be broken. In long-distance running, the marathon has long been the measure against which you pitted yourself. Read Story
We Are All Amateurs.
George Plimpton made a name for himself by slipping into high-profile careers and writing about his madcap adventures — as an amateur.
We are all participants in what Walt Whitman calls “the great play of life.” How we choose to participate is up to us. We can be casual observers or throw ourselves into life and enjoy not only the triumphs but also our foibles. No one embodied this truth more than one journalistic pioneer. Read Story
Crafting Relationships.
10-year-old Alfie works in the woodworking shop with his grandfather, crafting high-end chopping boards. Selling items out of the garage, the duo are building their relationship — and a brighter future.
It seems the world has gotten much smaller for the new generation of children. With access to world news streaming on smartphones and becoming the focus of discussions in classrooms, kids like Alfie are well aware of the problems other kids face around the world. Fortunately, that also inspires kids like Alfie to do something about it. Read Story
A Hand Up.
Maak Impact Chairman Mike Linton and founder Skyler Meine had a chance meeting with a humanitarian while on safari. The result is an organization dedicated to creating business owners in one of the longest-running refugee camps in the world.
For most people, running a successful business and raising a family check all the happiness boxes. For Mike Linton, one of the perks of growing a business was that it afforded a dream trip to Africa. Read Story
The Hero to our Four-legged Friends.
When the floodwaters poured in, Captain Dusty Mascaro waded in and saved more than 100 pets in Hillsborough County, Florida.
In times of trouble, or even at the end of a long workday, many people turn to a familiar source of comfort: their animal companions. It’s no different after a disaster — for good reason. Read Story
Judging by Appearances Misses the Most Beautiful Part of Life: Friendship.
When Oliver Bromley was asked to leave a restaurant because of his facial disfigurement, he didn’t seek revenge. He only asks that we all seek understanding.
In our TikTok, filtered-reality world, it’s easy to get caught up in comparisons. Do I look as good as her? Are my cheekbones high enough? But these questions only narrow the lens through which we see the world. There is no divine standard by which we should all be measured. Read Story
The Dream Builder.
Mark Ostrom and the Joy Collaborative customize spaces for children with physical and emotional needs.
The result is a place where dreams flourish, friends and families gather, and wonderful kids get to be the center of something magical. Read Story
Listening from the Heart.
Ludwig Van Beethoven wrote some of his greatest works when he couldn’t hear a note.
While America was struggling to define its independence in the late 1700s, the upper echelons of European society were exploding with creativity. Read Story
The Importance of a Good Dinner.
Cowboy chuckwagons were manned by veteran cowboys who cooked, sewed, repaired equipment and acted as mediators when tempers flared.
The iconic chuckwagon seen so often in movie Westerns came about shortly after the American Civil War. As the country expanded, cattle ranchers moved their herds along the Chisholm trail to Abilene, or across Texas to Dodge City, where cows fetched a good price and could be shipped to faraway markets. Read Story
The Electric Influence of a Good Mother.
Nikola Tesla was, in many ways, the stereotype of a mad scientist. His mother was kind, curious and loving. She encouraged him to look beyond his humble beginnings to the world stage.
The last name that is most famous today for the car that bears his name began as a knowledge-obsessed schoolboy. Read Story
Engineering a Better Community.
Barron Prize winner and high schooler Adeline Smith co-founded Growing the STEM, a nonprofit that creates math and science programs for students in 14 underserved Idaho schools.
The roots of STEM education, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, go all the way back to 1862, when universities that received land grants began promoting agricultural science. Read Story
Never Too Small to Make a Big Difference.
Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick was the first woman to jump from an airplane using a parachute.
Watching paragliders and skydivers these days is thrilling. They float and control their gossamer sails like giant birds. Imagine the first parachutes and the thrills they evoked in crowds who had never seen a human drop from the sky. Read Story
The Long Shot.
Hunter Woodhall won state in the 400 meters with a blistering time of 47.64 seconds — without legs.
The Olympics always produces some of the most memorable images of the year, and the 2024 Paris event was no different. Read Story
Miracle or Magician?
Whoever created the Loretto stairs in Santa Fe was a master craftsman. To do it in 1878 with nothing but hand tools is awe-inspiring.
The Loretto Chapel, in the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is built from warm earthen adobe, with a small nave and, above it, a choir loft. But at the beginning, the two weren’t connected. Read Story
