Revelo Magazine

Kevin Eberle’s world was turned upside down in 1986 when his best friend Connie unexpectedly took her own life. There were no warning signs and he was left angry, confused, and guilty. With the lack of support groups through his own search, Kevin began Survivors of Suicide two years after Connie’s death in order to help others navigate through losing a loved one to suicide.

Kathy Morgan always knew she would get cancer. Eight years after her father passed away from bladder cancer, Kathy was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2001, she participated in her first Relay for Life, forming a team called Capitan Morgan’s Cancer Crusaders. To date, the team has raised an astonishing 1.2 Million Dollars for Relay for Life—making them the top-grossing fundraising team.

Johnny Vega was a model student—participating in sports, getting good grades, and even scoring a scholarship to Millersville University—but by the age of 20 Johnny had taken his two year drug selling to a new level by opening a pair of night clubs. Known as the “one-stop-shop,” Johnny’s luck caught up with him when he was nabbed by the authorities and ultimately spent eight years in Federal prison. Today, he serves as a motivational speaker and encourages troubled youth to choose a better path.

After the birth of her third child, Angela Myers started running to stay in shape. That is when she discovered her speed and love of sprinting. She soon found USA Track and Field Masters, which is an organization for athletes over the age of 35 years old and qualified to represent the U.S.A. in Worlds. The experience of becoming a world-class athlete empowered her to pursue a career as a life coach and publish her first book entitled Living Younger.

Although Leo and Nick DiSanto did not particularly grow up in a musical household, the brothers have been paving their way through the music scene since their adolescence. For Nick who went to school to study sculpture, joined his two loves and began constructing wearable instruments—transforming him into a one-man band. Besides Leo’s solo career that includes busking around the world, he is a part of Lancaster’s well-known band, Vinegar Creek Constituency.

Having grown up as a member of the Amish community, Esther Schmucker experienced struggles and bouts of physical and emotional abuse. After giving birth to her abuser’s child at the age of 15 and later staring on The Discovery Channel’s show, Amish Mafia, Esther found her calling by helping others through Voices of Hope as well as writing a book titled “Healing in Heels.”

Growing up in downtown Lancaster, Osmyn Oree struggled with his identity as a member of the black community. Osmyn experienced racism not only from differing cultures, but also his own as he was often accused of not being black enough. Using his photography as an outlet to break down stereotypical barriers, Osmyn focuses on projects that challenge cultural diversity as well as the human body.

Leiana Smathers is a bright, bubbly, and fun 11-year-old despite her ongoing physical challenges. Born with Hallermann-Streiff Syndrome—a rare disease that has only been diagnosed to 200 people worldwide—Leiana has had multiple surgeries since birth to correct cataracts that leave her nearly blind, yet nothing seems to dampen her spirits. Full of life, she is determined not to let anything stop her.

Joining the military was a natural calling for Joe Post since most of the men in his family had served, however, the construction-minded veteran enlisted in the Army at the age of 25 after obtaining a college degree. He was a member of the troops sent to Iraq and was a part of a routine clearance sent into clear IEDs and EFPs. War took its toll on Joe and he returned home to later be diagnosed with PTSD—a disorder that affects approximately 15 out of 100 Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veterans.

Jenny Mercandetti found the love of her life in her partner, Shaun Mehal, but life had different plans for the happy couple. Having been clean and sober for two and a half years, Shaun fell off the wagon and passed away from an overdose five weeks after his 34th birthday. Jenny vowed to keep his most positive aspects alive through the Mighty Mehal Foundation, which provides financial assistance to those who have successfully completed a detox program and are seeking residency in a recovery or sober-living house.

For 39 years, Richard Humphreys has been entertaining children of all ages at Gnome Countryside on his Colerain Township property. Dressed in lederhosen, sporting a red kerchief around his neck and a handmade woolen cap on his head, Mr. Rich balances the struggles of near blindness due to diabetes by creating a mystical gnome land that engages children in storytelling and a lot of laughter.

Hidden behind Frosoula Romano’s glowing smile was a mass of anxiety, which started in high school. After trying medication for relief, Frosoula discovered a Bodypump class and later took to teaching Bodyflow—a Les Mills yoga-like program—to ease the anxiety that had affected her for years. Beyond her teachings, Frosoula is also a Reiki practitioner and doTerra essential oils consultant.

Growing up in Columbia, PA, Jeremy Crouse did not originally have a full appreciation for Lancaster County early in life. He left the area and ventured to Las Vegas where he got caught up in the nightlife of Sin City and began heavily using drugs—an addiction that led to hospitalization and homelessness. Luckily an officer helped send Jeremy back home to Lancaster where he is fully recovered and now focuses on his career as a realtor.

Patience Buckwalter does not remember the night that her and her adoptive mother had to flee Ethiopia to the United States for their safety from dangers of the militia. Her refugee experience led Patience to help others in similar situations through the Grape Leaf Empowerment Center and her new venture, Grape Leaf Café, which allows refugee women the opportunity to showcase their cooking skills and obtain work as well social and cultural interaction with the Lancaster community.

Jason Johnson is the not only the Founder and Director of the Central PA Heroes Coalition, he’s also Captain America. Donating his time to visit sick children while dressed as the famous superhero, Jason’s efforts extend to organizing fundraising events and special adventures. The nonprofit’s mission is simple: to bring happiness and smiles to all children through the love of costume characters.

Mark Springer never signed any of his work. Now recognized as “Untitled Mark,” the artist has found a love for salvaged materials and makes his mark on the world as a furniture designer who incorporates distinct angles, raw metal, and visual contradictions between form and function.

Kitty Byk was 12 years old when Hitler’s Nazi party took over her hometown of Vienna, Austria. Being of half Jewish decent, Kitty overcame working in the Labor Department, daily bombings, the advance of the Russian army, begging for food, and migrating to the U.S. just after her 20th birthday.

After a suppression of childhood molestation, Lionel Adriano coped with a dangerous drug addiction that led to homelessness. Things clicked for Lionel when he was offered a job at a salon and he began his journey into skin and beauty. Now the co-owner of Revolve Atelier, he continues to push himself and welcomes new opportunities.

Jen Nields wanted to be a humane officer ever since high school. She built her career experience after the devastating, sudden death of her father and utilized the tragedy to create Santa Claws and Paws to aide families in need. Focused on the greater good of animals, Jen throws herself into her work for the Pennsylvania SPCA.

Private investigation may not have always been in the cards for Sean Hall but interest in the field and fate brought the U.S. Air Force veteran to where he is today. Cases such as insurance fraud, child custody, infidelity, stalking, and even high-profile cases like investigating the church of Scientology makes him one busy man.

A yearning to remove himself from a lifestyle of drug dealing and partying, TJ Griffin paved his way as a hip-hop manager, actor, and motivational speaker. He formed The Vision Program in order to provide inner-city youth with workshops, mentorship, and guidance with the hopes of offering hope to troubled youth.

Alaina Salks aims to break down the taboo topic of human sexuality as she integrates mind, spirit, and sex as an Authentic Tantra instructor. In her private practice, she introduces individuals and couples to the ancient traditions which are rooted in Tibetan Buddhism.

Born with Usher syndrome, Andy Stender is both deaf and blind and uses Pro-tactile American Sign Language as a way to communicate with others. Refusing to be disabled by the syndrome, Andy studied horticulture, enjoys building model trains, and assembles helmet liners for his job at Vision Corps.

Samia Kreiser grew up with a normal childhood in the U.S. until her father liquidated the family’s assets and relocated them to Jordan in order to raise his girls in the Muslim culture. Struggling with her father’s overbearing rules, Samia and her sister’s eventually escaped back to the states to join her mother.

A funny guy, musician, and artist, Jason Berlet’s love of Saturday Night Live and stand-up comedians lead him to attend improv classes in New York City. The artist developed his style and became known for his Sharpie drawings on cups, take-out boxes, and just about anything he could get his hands on—all the while fronting the band, Brom Bones for the past 30 years.

After his service in the U.S. Army, Shaun Murphy joined up with the Teach for America program and refined his idea to recruit veterans into the classroom. Shaun was recognized for his efforts by former first lady, Michelle Obama during a 2007 press conference. Now a teacher at HACC, Shaun continues to mold the minds of our youth by encouraging motivation and leadership in our community.

Monica Forte’s youngest son, Tony, was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease only six days after his birth. The disease, which causes problems in the colon and digestive system, led the Forte family through multiple surgeries, living at hospitals, and eventually losing Tony at the age of 12. Monica remains active in her fight to help families in similar situations through her memorial fund, In Memory of Tony’s Footsteps.

Ron Rambo was born with cerebral palsy and needs 24-hour care. Among Ron’s challenges is finding affordable housing to accommodate his needs such as wheelchair accessibility. Ramboland is now in the works to build a self-sustaining, ecologically responsible home for Ron and will hopefully set the bar for other’s in his situation.

Brooke Magni originally discovered her love for running in junior high school but an injury and toxic relationship put a pause on her training. She eventually returned to running to pull her out of her depression and found that it helped to turn her life around. Now an advocate others, Brooke continues to run marathons and pushes herself to achieve her goals.

Moving to Mexico at the age of 15 wasn’t easy for Tyler Goodling and he began having suicidal thoughts and was self-harming. Finding support from his friends, family, and a group called To Write Love On Her Arms, Tyler was able to pull himself out of his deepest depression and now excels in the world of customer service at his position at Passenger Coffee.

Born in the days when women were rarely welcome in the scientific field, Edith Early pioneered in STEM after majoring in Chemistry. In 1944, Edith began working at Armstrong World Industries as the only woman in the factory and helped to develop groundbreaking new ways to mass-produce plastic flooring tiles.

Growing up on the Little Pine First National reservation of Cree, Johnny Semaganis was separated from his mother during the “Sixties Scoop” where Canadian Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed into foster care or adopted to mostly white, middle-class families. The attempt to assimilate the children pulled Johnny away from his siblings and led him to a family in the U.S.

At the age of 75, Soren West, or “Sojo” as he’s known on the trail, set out on an eight month and six day journey to complete the Appalachian Trail. Not only was Soren the oldest to hike the trail in its entirety in 2016, his hike was unique as he was accompanied by his eight-year-old golden retriever, Theo. The pair are forever changed by their adventure.

Kat Ludlow’s early years were not the happiest. Suffering abuse from a stepfather, Kat was placed into foster care where luckily, things took a turn for the best. Kat caught the traveling bug and began making her way through multiple U.S. states and eventually found herself living in Southeast Asia where she taught English, created an import/export business, and gained more life experience than most of us will see in a lifetime.

On the day of September 11th, Artie Van Why was working across the street from the World Trade Center. Caught in the center of tragedy, Artie witnessed the aftermath of the first plane hitting the North Tower, stood under the second tower when the second plane hit, and literally ran for his life. He wrote That Day in September and now speaks about his experience and struggle with PTSD.

Surviving a suicide attempt, Pam Wild firmly believes the cause of her mental state was due to the medications she was taking at the time for depression and anxiety. She has endured over 60 surgeries to reconstruct her face after her gunshot and her testimony about the side effects of SSRIs has prompted the FDA to require warning labels on medications.

Ray Newlin’s experience with alcohol and drug addiction and the loss of two close friends, led Ray to found Cornerstone for Recovery. The network of homes for people transitioning out of inpatient facilities, rehabs, and prisons offers safe and sober living to get residents back on their feet and back into society. Ray also started the Anthony Craighead Skateboard Scholarship that gives free skateboards to underprivileged children.

Abigale and Colin Fortnum are Disney fanatics. The couple embodies the definition of “fun” as they spend months planning and building costumes for a variety of events and collect all things Disney. Both artistic, Abigale is an illustrator with a unique style that is full of bright colors and nudes in twisted positions while Colin is a hair stylist.

A chief of the Métis Nation of the United States, Denny One Wolf has been actively amassing his knowledge of Native American people for more than 30 years.

What she refers to as being a normal 25-year-old life quickly turned Kelly Erikson’s world upside down when she was diagnosed with stage-four lower bowel cancer.

Kaden Stetler combines his love of everything Star Wars and his unwavering desire to combat homelessness through his organization, Rebel Cause.

After the tragic, sudden loss of her son, Ellen Smoll was introduced to the Gift of Life organization where Evan’s organs became gifts for many suffering patients.

Connor Gilbertson is unlike your typical 11-year-old. The boy with the big heart has raised money for cancer, autism, and a number of other charities.

Determined to discover herself and make people feel something through her work, mixed media artist Loryn Spangler-Jones has built her empire through her gallery, LSJ Studios.

As a young boy obsessed with fire trucks, Ken Hudson immersed himself in his lifetime career as a firefighter and Hazmat instructor.

Having survived cervical cancer and an emotionally abusive relationship, Theresa Fackler hit the bag and discovered her therapeutic career as a boxing instructor.

Sérgio Vigilato is a man of many hats. The Italian born in Brazil has a rich history in music, restaurant ownership, and taxidermy.

Motivated by a deep love and appreciation for animals, the couple runs Lancaster Farm Sanctuary which is home to residents such as goats, chickens, ducks, sheep, and a pair of cows.

Cody Smith credits his successful dance and choreographing path (which includes Radio City Christmas Spectacular) to his roots in Hempfield High School’s Dance Theater production.

Also known as The Yarn Bomber, Angelia Reed began The Wrap Up! Project in order to keep Lancaster warm by placing free, hand-made scarves throughout the county.

Orlando Vega celebrates sobriety after over two decades of intense drug addiction that lead him into rehabs, jail sentences, and homelessness.