COVER STORIES

“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

June 1993, High school is over, I graduated. I have no plan to attend college; I didn’t do well in high school. I leave high school with a special education diploma, so in actuality I really don’t have options. I have desires, I have dreams and I know there is more to life than this. But let’s be honest, I have no academic skills, I have no role models, just a vision. I see people with nice houses and luxury cars but I don’t know the path to take to obtain these items. I had no one telling me to strive for these things when I was growing up. I lived in poverty. My view of success was the local drug dealer and rap videos.Continue reading

Kate Schneider is an enthusiastic Radiologic Technologist, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with an MBA, a passionate advocate for childhood health, and our Mrs. New York America!

Kate’s radiology career brought her to the Capital District during the Summer of 2005, and she has proudly called New York her home ever since. That same year she met James, an orthopedic surgeon and lifelong resident of Upstate New York, who would later become her husband in October of 2009. They now live in the town of Rexford with their fur babies; two sweet little Yorkie’s named Martini and Maui.Continue reading

PHOTOS BY NATALIE SINISGALLI

The most life changing choice I have ever made is to believe that I am enough. Throughout my life, I’ve gravitated toward people who evoke a strong sense of confidence; people who pushed boundaries and stood out from a crowd, had an identifying trait, or won superlatives in high school because they were the best at who they were.Continue reading

ARTICLE BY NATALIE SINISGALLI & PHOTOS BY NSP STUDIO

I frequently hear people say they’re “just not creative”. As if you are either born with it, or you’re not. If you count yourself in the “not” camp, I have news for you. Creativity is within all of us. Like many things in life, it’s something you can practice and grow. There are many benefits to doing so. Creative thinking is how we reach new outcomes, how problems get solved, and where opportunities begin.Continue reading

COVER PHOTO BY CHARLENE MANN PHOTOGRAPHY

The mission of the Northeast Kidney Foundation is to improve the quality of life of those affected by kidney disease and related conditions, to increase organ donation and to empower those we serve to be effective voices for better healthcare at the local, state and federal levels.Continue reading

The Educator
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Malcolm X

The Unexpected Outcome
Dr. Shanelle R. Benson Reid never expected to be a teacher. However, she was told early on that she should be an educator, but she had no interest. She spent a great deal of time tutoring in high school and she liked helping classmates, though, she hated working on specific content. “That being said, success feels gratifying” so she worked hard in all of her classes: early mornings, late nights, whatever it took and she did very well. Please understand, school did not come easy to Dr. Benson Reid but she was committed.Continue reading

PHOTOS BY DAN DOYLE & MARK KNOPP

I jumped out of my 3rd floor office window! I saw my body flailing toward the pavement below. Then I looked up at my computer and spreadsheets.
Suffocating. I felt like I was suffocating, dying inside.

Why couldn’t I just be happy?
Why did I keep imagining I was leaping out of my office window? All of my unemployed college friends congratulated me on landing a well-paid 9-5.
My boss was amazing.Continue reading

PHOTOS BY CHARLENE MANN PHOTOGRAPHY

We all know, there’s a story behind every beautiful face and sometimes people endure trauma which would break others. Only the strong survive! Those of us who find the strength to rise above, find a way to use the experiences we survived to be our driving force to success and as a foundation to help others. Karen Mungenast is an inspiring woman, who rose above the darkness she experienced and is a woman on the top of her game. She has it all. She is a successful travelling Information Technology (IT) executive. She’s a mom. She’s a survivor.Continue reading

PHOTOS BY TELLIER STUDIOS

City of Syracuse Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens’s story leading up to her lifelong journey as a public servant begins with how she was raised. She had a mother who believed that when God blesses you, you have to give back. Her mother also believed that one has to give to return on their blessings which can be considered an investment. One has to decide and strive to really be all in and be the best person that they can be for the people around them.Continue reading

PHOTOS BY CHARLENE MANN PHOTOGRAPHY

Last fall, Rochester native Toni Natalie published her memoir, The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM. In it, she shared her harrowing story of living with and – the relentless pursuit from the man that the world would one day come to know as Vanguard, the leader of the sex cult, NXIVM.Continue reading