Community Corner

Get Ready for Whatever the Week Throws at You

Use these inspiring stories from the West Coast!

Written by Lanning Taliaferro

Nobody knows what kind of challenges you are going to face this week. 

So we went to California to bring you seven stories of challenges met and challenges overcome. For more than a month now, Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to present stories about your neighbors in our national series, Journeys.

Take a look at what these people have faced or taken on. Click on the story to see their responses. Then get that warm fuzzy inspirational feeling as you head into your week. 

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Once Undocumented, Now a Lawman: Santa Cruz Police Officer Blazes a Rare Trail 
Miguel Duarte remembers the first time he saw an American police officer. He was 17 and had crossed the U.S. border illegally. He was in awe. And he was terrified. Meeting up with la policia was his nightmare. But now, he's one of them. And he's one of the "good guys."
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Local Teen Raises $1M for Her Startup—Before Her 18th Birthday 
Brienne Ghafourifar earned her undergraduate degree at the age of 17. She's raised a million bucks to fund her Palo Alto startup, Entefy, the youngest college grad to do so. Next? Taking on Google. 
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Mother Remains Determined to Beat Aggressive Cancer

Fighting an aggressive form of cancer hasn't been easy for Liana Day Williams, who has stayed focused on one main thing: she can’t die because her family needs her.

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Kaiser Nurse Stays Calm Through Kidnapping 
Norma Camba didn't let fear take over after being abducted with several others by Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt.
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SF Giants' Outfielder Overcomes Writing Anxiety for the Fans
“I was asked to write a blog and that was embarrassing for me,” Outfielder Hunter Pence said. To still interact with fans and avoid the keyboard, Pence normally posts pictures instead of words from his twitter account. “When people send me that stuff, I love looking at it. I really want to do that more often. [But] sometimes I’m afraid to write something because I don’t want people to get angry.” Instead, Pence allows his actions to speak for him instead of words
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Obama’s Former Campaign Co-Chair Scales Summits in Politics, Business and Academics
The former State Controller’s formidable journey has expanded beyond politics into funding clean technology, serving on Stanford’s faculty and starting his own foundation to help California kids at risk. But the greatest challenge? Being a father. 
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Oakland A's Manager Rides Rollercoaster of Firings and Successes
Bob Melvin led the A’s to an unexpected American League West Division title last year and has them winning over 70 percent of their games early this season. But he hasn’t always been at the top. His first managerial stop was with the Seattle Mariners, where he led the team to a second-place in the AL West in 2003. He was fired after losing 99 games the following season. Now Bob Melvin is flying high with the A's. 


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