Director of training, Whataburger Restaurants, Corpus Christi, Texas

I grew up in Haines City, Fla., in a neighborhood where drugs were available 24 hours a day. My mom worked a lot but partied a lot, so we lived with my grandmother. She helped my two siblings and me a lot.

In our neighborhood, there were no role models. I wanted to be the person that somebody could look up to.We lived on public assistance,and I was told I could aspire to be a janitor or a maid.

I knew I had to get out.

In school, my teachers told me that I had the gift of gab, that I should be a lawyer or news reporter. If I hadn’t heard those words of encouragement, I might still be in that neighborhood. All you know is what you see.You become a product of your environment whether you like it or not.

After high school, I attended the Bay Area Legal Academy in Tampa. I couldn’t afford to go to a university and study law, so I decided to become a paralegal. I lasted only a year. I couldn’t afford my apartment or tuition any longer, and I didn’t have a car.

I was embarrassed to go back home. Everyone said,“I told you that you couldn’t do it.”Then I found out I was pregnant. Not only was I a college dropout, I was an unwed mother.

Five months after my baby was born, my boyfriend and I got married. He was in the military, and we went overseas. I got a job at Wendy’s in the air terminal in Italy and learned the language.I was 22.

When we came back to the states, I became the director of a day care until it shut down. My husband suggested I get a job at McDonald’s.

The manager said,“I love your smile.You’re different.We’ll start you at $3.35 an hour, and you’ll get a raise in 90 days.” Instead, I kept getting promoted, eventually managing 58 employees. I was a natural.

I became the Martin Luther King Jr. of the fast food industry. I was preaching it on the street corners.

Later, I went to Krystal’s and was responsible for seven stores. I’m now the director of training at Whataburger, where I helped develop our management-training program.

It’s a great place to work. It supports my work in the community because Whataburger recognizes the importance of empowering youth. I’m the youth director of my church and choir director for 13 churches, and I teach job training skills and help young people get jobs in the quickservice industry.

When people ask me what school I went to, I say “the school of hard knocks and the restaurant industry.”It’s an inspiring career with a lot of room for growth. You can be an accountant, lawyer, counselor, inventory specialist, marketing guru all in one industry — or even one job. Special people can come into this industry and make a difference.

View her video here.