​Josh Fisher is a senior multimedia developer for Connections Academy. After knowing Josh for mere weeks, I could tell how wholeheartedly invested he is in the work that he does, creating dynamic, user-friendly multimedia tools for teachers to use in supporting their students. Although he started his career in 3D drafting and industrial design, Josh deftly managed to turn his hobby of programming into a fulfilling career, demonstrating exactly what he preaches about continuing to do the things you’re most passionate about. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
 
When you were 17, what did you want to be?
 
I really didn't have any idea of what I wanted to be. At the time, I was at a technical high school. I studied computer-aided drafting, and I went down a career path that started with that. I didn't want to go to college right away. I had the grades, but my parents couldn't afford it. And I didn’t want to get student loans myself. So I applied for an internship at Black & Decker DeWalt, the people that make power tools, doing 3D drafting.

Bridget Priolo is a freelance designer and artist, and just all-around incredible human being. Before our conversation, I didn’t have a perfectly clear sense of what Bridget’s profession was, but there’s something about her energy and the way she connects with people that lets you know she has art at her core. But Bridget’s creativity doesn’t translate to uncertainty so much as openness; as we’ve traveled together for the last four months, I’ve realized how much I turn to Bridget when I’m seeking art and culture in the most authentic form. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
 
When you were 17, what did you want to be?
 
I figured out what I wanted to be pretty young, which came on a trip actually. I was six or seven, and my family took a trip together to Majorca, different parts of Spain, and also to Italy and I saw the Sistine Chapel for the first time and it blew my mind. I had this deeply spiritual experience where I vowed to God that I was going to be an artist.

Zak Erving is a product designer for Riptide IO, a job he got in the most modern way possible, by meeting and getting to know the company’s founder at a coworking space. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Zak has also been a middle school art teacher, an illustrator for a series of mystery books, and a blacksmith – yes, you read that right – along with a stint as a travel writer, and his years as a cryptocurrency enthusiast. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 
 
When you were 17, what did you want to be?
 
I certainly had an interest in architecture. I thought that that would be a cool pursuit of using design and math. I never really explicitly liked doing math problems, but I really liked what math allows you to do. Math is like an instrument that guides you, it's like a map. You get to start at the beginning and create your own little universe, and math is like the building block that sets all of that up. Honestly, if high school me heard me say this now he'd be like, "What are you talking about?" I did math and I was okay at it, but I really didn't think of it past math homework.

Jelena Djakovic, like most professionals in our generation, wears a lot of hats. After 10 years working in marketing for everyone from colleges to hotels, she now runs her own consulting business. At the same time, she designs a carefully curated set of leather wallets and organizers through her company LIBRA (if you click on this link, you will buy one…they’re dreamy). I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jelena on one of my last days in Belgrade, where we cemented our friendship over four different kinds of dessert. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
 
When you were 17, what did you want to be?
 
I wanted to grow up to be a bunch of stuff. My dad's an architect, so I really wanted to be an architect. But he stopped that idea. He said that if you're an architect, you spend more time with construction workers than actually doing design [which is what] I thought architecture was. He didn't want me to spend my life arguing with construction workers.