A small child sits in a classroom where she is lumped in with kids who have special needs. Confused by what’s being done, she asks, “How can you treat us like this?” before cold hands seize the child and pull her into the stark white room, where silence and solitude stretch for hours, leaving her alone with her childlike ideas of right and wrong. 

As an outspoken child, Teisha Mechetti spent her early school years in a development program where children were severely misunderstood and sent to a padded cell for misbehaving. After fighting for herself with mom’s help, Mechetti was finally given an IQ test, in which she shone, and then was transferred to the ‘normal kids’ classes. In the 5^th grade, she was forced to catch up on four years of education and learn how to socialize. 

At age 12, Mechetti was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Lupus. She has been diagnosed with various types of lupus but found out in 2024 that she also had one of the worst, Neuro Lupus, which affects the brain, spinal cord, or peripheral nervous system. Mechetti only let her illness drive her to be more successful. Hospital visits turned into essential work time. “Only the people closest to me knew I was sick. I didn’t let it slow me down.” 

By age 26, Mechetti had researched her way into managing business plans with owners, 18- 20-hour days: “I employed 10 people, had 80 contracts, and had my first .5mil gross income. I consider myself a pioneer because I am completely self-taught and was driven by fear.” The next year, 2017, broke Mechetti in a way she wasn’t expecting. After a month of having symptoms, Mechetti had her first major stroke. Recovering and enduring chemotherapy in 2020, she was very sick and fell into a deep depression, but her neighbor gave her a shoulder to lean on, and she made it through with even more conviction. 

Mechetti had been at court with her partner for custody of their son. After presenting letters to the court from people that Mechetti didn’t know, her partner ultimately won because of what he told others to write about her. This event fueled her to work harder, and she became “obsessed with the system” to help parents who had been wronged by their partners. Unfortunately, Mechetti’s passion to reopen cases did not help her with her own; she had given her partner fuel to make her sound mentally unstable. 

Mechetti, age 36, has been fighting for justice for as long as she can remember. Her mother, Kristina Karekos, says that “Teisha feels compelled to help others and right things she deems unjust.”  Mechetti’s sense of justice has caused her to fight through many emotionally straining tough times. However, with the support of her friends and mom, the heart she retains has enough room for it and pushes her harder to succeed.  

Teisha Mechetti is now an architect, innovator, and project manager at the business she owns, Think (‘n’ Tank) in Rouge River. “We don’t just launch companies—we engineer ecosystems where bold ideas, real relationships, and relentless execution collide. This brand is a battleground for innovators, and we’re here to build legacies that outlast the noise.” Mechetti is partnered with Southern Oregon Youth Works, where she gets to pick youths for her team. She has become an instructor of sorts, giving young adults hands-on training while they get paid. They even have an office kitty. 

“My trauma doesn’t define me… no matter how many times life kicks you down, there’s always a way to get back up… It doesn’t matter what it is, if you believe in yourself, you can make anything happen.”