The Most Inspiring Stories in Utah

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

Joseph Paul Branca

I was not introduced to the arts in any serious capacity until my late teens when I was able to secure a full-ride scholarship for musical theatre and realized for the first time that I might be able to make a career out of acting. It felt like I spent the subsequent half of a decade playing catch-up with my contemporaries who were not only introduced to the reality of a life as a performer at a very young age, but also spent their time seriously training as performers. It often felt like everyone I was in auditions with had a 15-year head start. But through hard work and a lot of luck, I’ve been granted many amazing opportunities as an actor. Read more>>

Porter Thomas

I worked as a trainer at a CrossFit. While I love CrossFit, I noticed that the intense programming and lack of recovery left many of my clients injured. My purpose in fitness has always been to help improve your everyday life, and I noticed that it wasn’t accomplishing what I was setting out to do. Read more>>

Mandy Myers

I started doing bookkeeping when I was just 16 working in my dads footing/foundation business. I worked there until 2005 when my dad sold the business to my husband. My husband and I have continued to run the business to this day. In 2016 I decided to start my own business helping small contractors like my husband handle their day to day bookkeeping using QuickBooks. Read more>>

Aleks Micic-Alvarez

I came to the United States as a refugee with my family in 1997. We arrived with almost nothing, just the hope that life here could be safer and more stable than the one we left behind. Read more>>

Robert Short

I suppose that my story is somewhat unique. This wasn’t a career choice that I chose to pursue right out of high school or college or anything like that. I’ve always loved to travel. I love to visit new places and to learn about those places. Read more>>

Allen Parkinson

My career has spanned 35 years of learning as much about the world of design for both print and digital mediums, as possible. For the past 25 years I have been running Think Tank Creative Consortium, a branding agency founded by myself and a former business partner. Read more>>

Jim Quist

I moved to Utah in 2015 to complete my Masters of Sports Medicine while working as the Athletic Trainer for the University of Utah Softball team. During this time I began working out at a boxing gym in Sugarhouse, where I fell in love with the sport and fitness of boxing. Read more>>

Jacob McBride

When I was 15 I started detailing cars on a golf cart for people in my neighborhood. And I was very intruded about how business worked. The 15-18 I grew my business to where I was doing 250k a year as a high school student. Through that time I was always testing different systems, processes, and marketing methods. Read more>>

Bria Carlsen

I did not grow up in the kitchen. I never liked to cook, and my baking repertoire consisted of rice krispies and box mix-brownies. In college, I fell in love with the Great British Baking Show. The camaraderie and banter on the show was so fun – the bakes were almost an afterthought. Read more>>

Ashley Pacheco

I started as a downtown bartender with a thirst for variety and a genuine love for people, cocktails, and connection. That passion for creativity and customer service is what inspired The Bar Project—a bar experience built on quality, personality, and impeccable service. Read more>>

Tyson Hamilton

In 2014, I lost my job as a construction supervisor and needed to find a way to make ends meet while I searched for new work. My mom, who owns Capital City Antique Mall in Salt Lake City, offered me the opportunity to list items from her store on eBay. Read more>>

Kelly Parke

I blogged about how my story got started here: https://parkecreative.com/how-my-fairy-book-was-born/ although that website won’t be live after December, please don’t reference it. What that story doesn’t fully explain is how I ended up in that magical place that inspired me so… It was the death of my mom  I was devastated. Read more>>

Jon Absey

My job career in Utah started 32 years ago, when I made the long move from Minnesota to take my new job as the mascot for the Utah Jazz. Being the Jazz Bear lasted 25 years and it was an amazing experience. Read more>>

Jenny Compas

I was a young mother of five when yoga first found me. At the time, I was struggling — with depression, with balance, and with myself. Yoga changed everything. It gave me tools to manage my emotions, rebuild my strength, and reconnect to what mattered most. It wasn’t just movement; it was medicine. Read more>>

Erica Sargent

I originally went to college for communications, I wanted to get into Public Relations and Marketing and hopefully break into event planning and design because it seemed like the more practical route. While I was in school though I worked at an exterior home design center and absolutely fell in love with interior design. Read more>>

Mason Squires

Where do I start, haha this Cafe has been a long time coming, I will give you a condensed version because there’s a lot! it has been my wife’s dream since she was a girl. Everywhere she and I would travel, first thing we would do is look for the cutest cafe’s to check out. It’s our greatest hobby we share together. Read more>>

Sarah Brown

My story with Aspen Grove actually started before I was even a student at BYU. I came here for the Foundations of Leadership conference the summer before my freshman year, and I absolutely fell in love with this place. Read more>>

Justin Black

Before the mattress shop, I was working a remote job. I never got to see anybody or meet new people and I missed that in my life. So, I began looking for options where I could get social interaction every day. That’s when I saw this mattress business for sale on KSL. Read more>>

Kayla Spurlock

I started writing music when I was eight years old, but it took me almost 30 years after that to be brave enough to release anything. My grandparents were both phenomenal bluegrass musicians, and that was a catalyst for me to take piano lessons when I was nine years old. Read more>>

Jaylyn Bower

So I’m Jaylyn! I’ve always been passionate about people, energy, and creating fun, meaningful experiences—whether that’s through events, community work, or just getting people to laugh together. I spent several years as a military spouse, which meant moving all over the country, and that gave me this really unique opportunity to work in a wide variety of management and community roles. Read more>>

Ramesh Wettasinghe

I began my entrepreneurial journey in 2015 when I founded Oasis Montessori Schools in Syracuse, Utah. What started as a passion project quickly became one of the top-rated preschools in the state, and in 2021 it was officially recognized as the Best Privately Owned Preschool in Utah by the state of UT. Read more>>

Amberdee Miller

I currently work full-time as a law enforcement officer and will be eligible for retirement after 20 years of service in just five years. Since I’ll only be 50 at that point, I knew I wanted to find something meaningful that I could enjoy doing while also supplementing my income. Read more>>

Kyle Rutledge

I never wanted to be an entrepreneur in the traditional sense. The idea of it and sense of it grew on my overtime, until one day I was thrust into it. And now having experienced it, I don’t think I’ll ever go back. A little about me. I love learning and teaching. Read more>>

Crystal Butler

I’ve known since high school that I wanted to be a florist. My very first floral design class sparked something in me that never went away. That passion led me to BYU–Idaho, where I graduated with a degree in Horticulture with an emphasis in Floral Design. You can still receive an emphasis in Floral Design at BYU-Idaho today. I highly recommend it! Read more>>

Jenny Fahrner

I started working in the Heating and Air Conditioning industry when I was 17 at a commercial shop in California. I then went onto school, to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. After graduating, I moved to Utah and gained more experience working for a commercial and later residential contractor. It was through these experiences that I discovered my passion for running a business. Read more>>