Artistic and creative careers are among the most rewarding, but they also come with unique challenges. We asked some of the city’s best creatives to tell us why they choose to pursue a creative career.

Melissa Menendez

I’ve always been a beauty girl through and through. I was the one doing friends’ makeup when they would sleep over, spending hours coloring glamorous girls in coloring books, making sure their blush and eyeshadow matched. I also spent time in modeling, and out of everything we learned in our classes, makeup and color theory were always my favorite parts. That’s when I realized I wasn’t just playing with makeup products, I was studying them. Art and creativity have always been my outlet, and makeup ended up becoming the perfect blend of both. It’s like painting, but the canvas smiles back. Read More>> 

Romina Garber

I was nine years old when I discovered that nothing in this world could touch me as deeply as a well-placed word.
My family had immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina only four years earlier, so I didn’t hear English at home. Yet every day after lunch, my fourth-grade teacher would read to us from Shel Silverstein’s masterpiece, Where the Sidewalk Ends.
It was in those stories that I truly heard the language for the first time. Read More>>

Granville Singh

Here are some positive reasons why StillVillN decided to pursue a career in music, based on his identity as a hardworking, family-oriented man with a deep passion for live performance and conscious music:

1. Music as a Legacy for His Family
StillVillN chose music not only as a career but as a lasting gift—something he could build, share, and eventually pass down. As a family-oriented man, he wanted to create a legacy rooted in creativity, healing, and financial freedom for the ones he loves the most. Read More>>