Dan Stone, 37

Dan Stone knows what it means to strive for excellence. “A lot of who I am stems from adversity from when I was young,” Stone says. Stone lost 80% of hearing in both of his ears when he was young, impacting his speech and forcing him to start wearing hearing aids at 4 years old.

By sixth grade Stone was in the gifted program in school, and in high school was voted “most likely to succeed.” “It’s why I never settle for anything less than the best, balls to the wall,” he says.