My inspirations.

My older cousin Jason Kelly is the biggest inspiration in my life. Diagnosed with Pompe disease before birth, he has become the oldest living human being ever recorded with the disease.

He graduated with an Aerospace Engineering degree from Iowa State University. He continues to be a light in my life and a glass-half-full type of guy.

My older cousin Dr. Benjamin Mancuso has been a mentor and role model for me all my life. A 14-year age difference, and we are closer than ever.

A Creighton baseball pitcher back in the day, married to his high school sweetheart, with four beautiful children and a flourishing dental office in the heart of Omaha. He continues to provide advice and insight whenever it is needed.

Wyatt and I grew up alongside each other in Springfield, NE — a friendship that runs a generation deep, since our dads grew up together in the same small town.

He's more brother than friend. Living together in college, I had a front-row seat to his work ethic and his refusal to settle for anything less than what he set out to do. He's taught me what creative purpose and relentless determination actually look like in practice — and he's the kind of person I can call at any hour, no questions asked.