Emma Start

"I think one of the things that has shaped who I am today is the fact that my mom moved five hours away from my family when I was 16. Essentially, she took a new job that would require her to commute back and forth between our home in Charlotte and her job in Richmond. For the past five years my family and I have watched her live out her dream job and make a really big difference in the Richmond community. For me, it forced me to completely develop independence at a relatively young age. My older sister was already in college and my dad also worked full time, so it was my younger brother and I at home. I would do a lot of the cooking and cleaning, the carpooling, driving him to work and making sure we got homework done. I would make lunches and all that good stuff. Independence grew from that, and I really learned to appreciate the woman my mother is and the marriage my parents have, while growing into my own and realizing my own potentials as a big sister and daughter."