Telling My Story

The setting is April 2020. I am 15 years old, and this new disease called COVID has shook the planet. Now, focussing on me, I am a grade 11 student unsure of what I am going to do after high school; the only thing I am sure about is my need to make money. I was planning on getting a vehicle soon, so I figured I should start looking for jobs, to be able to get the vehicle I wanted. I applied at various places, including McDonald's, Sobeys, and the local golf course, all with no response. The final and last place I applied at, Superstore, was the place I was least expecting to get into. It would have been too good to be true. It was the closest to my house, and was one of my favourite places to shop. After applying for lots of jobs, with no response, I begin to lose hope. Two weeks after I apply, I get a call-back from Superstore. They called to arrange a phone interview with me. I was so excited, my first job! Soon to be let down again, I got a call back from the hiring agent, who said that after looking over my resume, she saw that I was only 15, and too young to be hired. I was devastated. A couple of days later, she calls back and says that I can get the job, only if I do these youth work courses online. Of course, I do them and am getting excited (and nervous) about my first day of work. Once I get there, I am devastated. The hours are soo long, the department is filled with middle-aged men who I would not usually talk to, and my job is really demanding. I thought to myself, I'm not just going to quit because it's hard at the beginning. I keep going. I learn a lot of skills along the way. Now, somewhat selfishly, I would consider myself to be one of the best in my department. I learned skills that only managers have, got great at customer service, and gained the respect of everyone there (along with building some fantastic relationships with people at all levels of the company). One day, during a conversation with one of the assistant store managers, a light bulb went off. I want to go into business. Maybe not in the direction of management, but this line of work interested me. This was at the time of university applications, so I decided to look at the universities that have management programs. After some guidance from my then-teacher and the support of my parents, I ended up at CMU. I have learned some great skills and knowledge in my 7 months of being here. The skills at my work and university are interchangeable, and I find that to be really exciting. Perhaps I might be the next manager, but who knows, maybe I can shoot higher than that. Wishful thinking helped me before.