Growing up, Kaelan Byrd of Flintstone, Georgia, was the oldest of five children. At points in her childhood, she wished for a baby sister, but grew up with four younger brothers instead.
Before the birth of one of her siblings, she remembers thinking to herself, “God, if it’s another boy, please let him at least look like me.”
Now 24, Byrd believes that being the first-born child, followed by a quartet of boys, made her a stronger, more resilient adult.
“I think that’s what made me more of a leader,” she says. “When you are the oldest, you don’t have anybody ahead of you. (And) if you can communicate with four little brothers, you can communicate with anybody.”
Today, Byrd is communications manager for Lil Mama’s Chicago Style Hoagy on Georgia Avenue in downtown Chattanooga, a popular Patten Square eatery where customers flock to buy authentic, Windy City sandwiches created by owner and former Chicago resident Tiffany Pauldon-Banks.