Stacy 2 Years
Category: Stacy Benefield
June 1 marked my second anniversary with Square Root. I am one of those people that always remembers and looks forward to anniversaries. Standing the test of time – no matter what you're doing – is always an accomplishment in my opinion.
Anyhow, thinking of my anniversary, I was reminded of when I celebrated the same anniversary at my first job – Quincy's Steakhouse in Daleville, Ala. I started as a cashier and frontline worker the summer before my senior year in high school. When I turned 18 (old enough to use the meat slicer and wait tables) I "graduated" to a server. I continued working there on weekends while I was a Freshman in college and that final summer before renting my first apartment in Troy.
At Quincy's they marked each anniversary, beginning simply with the number of years listed on your gold name tag, and eventually including tack pins to mark particularly significant milestones (I can't remember how long you had to work there to get a diamond). So, when I had been there two years, my name tag said:
Stacy
2 Years
I was proud in a way...for a teenager working at a restaurant, two years is actually pretty substantial (all said I worked there about 2 ½ years before I moved away for college). But it sticks out in my memory that more than one customer commented on my name tag, pretending that "2 Years" might be my last name...silly. I guess I'm a little too serious for my own good, because I don't have much patience for silliness most of the time. :o) But since it was my job to put on a happy face, I always grinned and bared it.
It also occurred to me that while two years was significant back then, it's just the beginning for me here at Square Root. I like being an expert at my job, so I'm usually in it for the long haul. I followed up my first job with another server position in Troy, where I stayed another 2 ½ years until I had to move away to begin my journalism internship. I interned at B.A.S.S. and stayed on for nearly a year total trying to get a permanent position. That didn't work out, so I moved on to my next job at the Alabama Hospital Association where I stayed for 6 ½ years.
AlaHA was the first job I left voluntarily, and it was hard to do. In the end, my desire for new growth and my passion for the Web and technology lead me to take a leap of faith and start a new journey here at Square Root. And, I haven't regretted it for a single moment!
Posted By: Stacy Benefield | Date Published: 6.13.2008 | Comments (1)