Team Member Spotlight: Kayla

Meet Kayla, a Shift Lead at the Sicklerville, New Jersey, Taco Bell, who has worked for Summerwood for nearly four years. Kayla is a natural born leader, who had her eye on a job at Taco Bell from the time she was 15 years old. 

For Kayla, being a leader means,  “… being able to hold yourself at a different standard than everybody else [be]cause you know, at the end of the day, they’re all gonna look on you on what’s next.”

Many successful leaders are good multitaskers, and Kayla is no different. As a mother, flexibility is key, and she says Summerwood has been fully supportive of her journey. “Summerwood… has worked with me through every kind of availability that I’ve had so far in the four-plus years I’ve been here,” she shares.

Kayla also references the great employee benefits offered by Summerwood, from bonuses to free meals, and she hopes her son might grow up to join the Taco Bell team.

It’s clear that Kayla acts not just as a Shift Lead, but also as a mentor. She is instrumental in encouraging team members to apply for Summerwood’s many benefits like Taco Bell’s $25,000 Live Más Scholarship, which she has seen awarded two times to a crew member at her location.

The key to success is all about teamwork for Kayla and her crew.

“Teamwork is literally everywhere. My whole job is about teamwork,” she says. “If my team isn’t working together, then I’m not doing my job.”

The cool setting doesn’t hurt either. “This place is set apart from everything else,” Kayla says.

Kayla is currently going through training with the goal of becoming a Restaurant General Manager (RGM). Outside the restaurant world, Kayla dreams of one day joining the Navy. And she knows Summerwood will be there for her along the way.