Kacie M.: Building Life Skills for Bigger Impact
Kacie M. ended up at our Parkesburg, PA Taco Bell because she was tired of her work environment and just needed a change of scenery. And then she fell in love with the whole setup — the food, the people, the atmosphere, the extra cash for shopping!
When Kacie accepted a crew member position with Summerwood about a year ago, she was finishing high school while juggling another job. She was also attending a trade school for nursing for part of the day.
Working students are super stars, juggling regular shifts with studying and everyday life.
Now a recent high school graduate, Kacie says that she took a gap year from her nursing program but intends to continue her schooling online so she can keep working at Taco Bell.
The goal is to “be able to do everything I want to do,” she says. At Summerwood, we want to see her accomplish everything she wants to, too!
“I just love working here,” she says. “I don’t know, something about it – it’s like an addiction … even on my days off, I’m here.”
In Kacie’s opinion, finding a job you love this much is pretty rare.
Opportunity Knocks
When Kacie’s manager asked if she’d like to become a Shift Leader, she was excited but it meant she would have to leave her other job to work for us full-time. That was hard, even though she already liked it here.
Kacie’s advice for job seekers is simple: Go for it 100%. Summerwood gives you a lot of opportunities.
But when you’re ready to climb the career ladder, we invest in you! The next step toward promotion is quality training. That’s where our Summerwood Academy comes in.
Launched in 2025, it’s designed to help advance passionate, qualified internal candidates like Kacie.
Once Kacie started Academy classes, she had no regrets. “I’ve made it this far and I’m pretty proud of myself,” she says.
We want to continue developing Kacie and build on her core capabilities. Where she definitely excels is in her attitude – she’s positive, outgoing and likable, and shows an obvious passion for what she does.
Today, Kacie is a Shift Leader who’s still learning about herself. She’s the first to admit that telling people what to do isn’t her strength. “I’m a person who does things myself,” she says.
“I love waking up in the morning and coming here.” -Kacie M., Shift Leader
For her, the Taco Bell environment is so much better than it was at other places of employment. She’s a big part of that for her team and their guests!
“If they’re having a bad day, it’s like we rub off on them,” she says of the daily customer service. “So then we’re making their day better … and it just makes my life a lot better!”
From Soft Tacos to Scrubs
It’s not all tacos ahead for Kacie, though. Her dream is “to make an impact on as many people as I can” – to become a nurse, like her mom who’s also going back to school for the same degree! She looks up to her.
As much as Kacie will miss her role in the restaurant, she’s grateful for the skills she’s built at Summerwood that will transfer seamlessly like leadership and caring about people’s needs.
In the meantime, we’ll enjoy Kacie’s positive presence here as long as we can take it!