When I was 15 years old, I was working for chick-fil-a in Aurora mall. It was a deeming job for a 15yr old, but my family needed the money. Me and my older brother were raised by our great aunt along with numerous other family members in a 900sq foot home. We both started working very young. I started delivering newspapers at 4 in the morning everyday), and selling newspapers (door-to-door) after school. Now that I have digressed, let me get back to Chick-Fil-A.
One day, the owner (“Frank” shall not be named) told me to clean the floors. He didn’t give me a mop or anything. I was on my hands a knees with spray bottle and hands full of napkins. A customer saw this and told me to get up. She continued to yell at everyone for having me on my knees cleaning. On the walk home, I saw a hiring sign at Blackjack Pizza in Aurora. Lucky for me the owner of the store was there working when I walked in.
The owner hired me on the spot and it forever changed my life.
That store became a safe place for me, and a place where I would learn valuable lessons. The owner took me under his wing and taught me about leadership, communication, money management and goal setting. Including me; I watched people (mostly kids) come in to the store lost and leave ready to be contributing adults.
One of the managers Troy L was a former Marine. Working for him and watching the way he conducted himself (and the fact that my brother joined the Army) made me want to join the military. I joined the Marine Corp one day after high school graduation. 20 years later here I am teaming up with my older brother and buying the location that taught me so much. We wanted to give others the same opportunities and mentorship I received while working at BlackJack Pizza.
