MEET RYAN GARDNER Becoming interested in health was completely accidental for me. I read Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals on the basis of a recommendation, and it opened my eyes to the world of health, behind the scenes of factory farming, the importance of organic food, and more. From there,…

MEET MONICA SOLIS   I didn’t know what “healthy” really was until I went to college. Throughout middle school and high school, since I wasn’t on a sports team, I was stuck in general P.E. where most coaches had my classmates and I walking the track or running errands. In…

MEET MORGAN GARRISON I started making healthier choices in college. I was on my own, so my parents weren’t around to tempt me with homemade comfort food. I also had lots of friends who loved hiking and rock climbing, and they got me started! I realized I felt better physically and…

MEET LAURA CASTILLO Hi, I’m Laura Castillo-Alaniz, and being an intern for IT’S TIME TEXAS has allowed me to continue to make healthy the norm, which is exactly what the organization strives for. Growing up, I was an extremely active person. My parents made me try every sport at least…

MEET LEEROY CIENEGA Since I was young, I have always taken a special interest in aquatic sports. For two consecutive years in high school, I dove competitively in region-wide competitions. Our training sessions and group workouts were physically challenging and mentally excruciating. The exhilaration I derived everyday from practice, is…

MEET LU SHAN It’s not easy to find a workplace, like IT’S TIME TEXAS, where you can sit on a fitness ball or stand up to do your work. When I was a kid, I was asked to eat all kinds of vegetables so that I would have a nutritious…

Meet Jenna Nelson Throughout my lifetime, I have lived actively and have had a passion for health and wellness. Recently, I’ve been lucky enough to partake in roles that allow me to advocate this passion and help me improve my own fitness and eating routines. Being both the Health &…

MEET OLIVIA TURNER As both of my parents are health-care professionals, being healthy was an important part of my lifestyle growing up. My sisters and I were always encouraged to participate in sports as often as possible and eat healthy meals. Unfortunately, as I got older, health became less important…

MEET JIWOO KIM I remember my Middle School cafeteria being something similar to the Willy Wonka Factory. Though it didn’t have chocolate rivers or oompa loompas, it had comparably the same amount of sweets. My first year of middle school was filled with chocolates, candies, and sugary chewing gum and…