Greg first started working at Cookie Cart in October 2017. “My sister Cierra was working here and told me I needed a job because I was buying too much fishing stuff.” What started as a way to earn money to support his fishing hobby, quickly became more than Greg imagined. “I didn’t expect to like working here as much as I do. I truly love it and I’m glad that I have it in my life. All of the trainings will be with me forever.”
What makes Cookie Cart so special to Greg is all the people he’s met in the last 3.5 years. “Everyone. My coworkers, the managers, people at workplace visits, customers. Everyone is really respectful and you always learn something from anyone – even if it’s a 30 second conversation or someone you’ve known for 2 months.” Greg has seen how every aspect of work and training at Cookie Cart is interconnected saying, “Cookie Cart does so much in different fields: from leadership to workplace visits to working in the bakery. Everything works together and creates a big outcome for the youth.”
Greg is a creative, strategic thinker, which helps him be an excellent teammate inside the bakery. “I like to come up with ways to make things more efficient. I’m always inventing things – like how we sticker the cookie bags – so that it makes things better.” Greg’s out-of-the-box thinking is something his managers notice too saying, “Greg is great at getting his peers talking, participating, and thinking about how to improve on their skills in the bakery.”
Soon, Greg will be a role model and mentor to new youth employees in our bakery. His advice for them? “Show leadership. Even if you don’t see yourself as being a leader, put the effort into it because we do see the effort and that goes a long way. We know that if you can’t do it, but you still try to, that simply just shows that you’re a leader and you’re okay with not being able to do something and are ready to learn how to do it. So put in effort and ask for help! Leaders ask for help all the time – everyone needs help. Show leadership qualities like collective listening, being thankful for everything, being respectful, responsive, and responsible. All of these play a part in your success.”
Greg has his sights set on his bright future: “I love fishing and want it to be my primary career as a professional angler. I’m also considering going to trade school for carpentry or the Marines or Army to become a weapons mechanic. Whatever I end up doing, fishing will always be something I do.”