Alexandria Moran

I would say the leaders that I've had. My first ever manager at Dunkin' Donuts, back in 2011, played a major key role in my work ethic and my confidence in the workplace. Even though I was just a crew member, she knew I was dependable and she could rely on me. I would also say my abuelo, because I'm part Puerto Rican, and he was the main influence growing up to always work hard at anything that I do, whether it's school or work. My family was never pressed on me to get an education - they were like, you can just work your way through things, which I have. So I would say those two things, and obviously just my family in general.

One big thing to me is to never stay where you're not respected. I think people go back and forth whether jumping from job to job is a bad thing, but I think that you're never going to find where you belong unless you're willing to leave places that don't serve you - your growth, not even just in your career, but as a person as well. You need to be surrounded by people who uplift you and want to see you succeed, and care about your growth as much as you do. So I would say definitely go where you're respected, where your time is respected, where you as a person is respected. Choose things that serve you. Even if it's not your dream career, find a place that you find value in and morally you connect with.

I would say to never be afraid to stand up for yourself, and that goes with any situation, whether it's obviously something as bad as harassment, but also just a policy change that may not serve you, or something in the workplace that affects you or someone else. If you're not being supported, don't be afraid to voice up, because at the end of the day, you deserve to be in a workplace that values you and respects you. Don't be afraid to voice the things that you deserve, whether it's pay or just workplace atmosphere, things like that.

A big challenge is that working in a cafe, it's a very fast-paced and high-pressure environment. Customers have expectations of you, as well as your own boss does as well, so you come across a lot of difficult interactions all of the time. There's a lot of physical and mental fatigue as well. You're doing new things all the time and constantly trying to keep up the standard when there's things like the unknowns happening, like call-outs, people getting sick, the printer is down, things like that that are kind of unavoidable. It can be a lot. But the biggest opportunities is career growth. The company specifically that I work for is expanding and growing, so there's going to be a lot of different opportunities for myself. I'm learning a craft as well, the science of coffee and making drinks and things like that, and just team culture and community.

A couple of things that I value: one is respect, like I mentioned. Also accountability - I feel that everyone can make a mistake, everyone can make a bad decision, and that's okay, as long as you hold yourself accountable to change yourself for the better. The only thing that you get out from that is progressing to be better, and that's a good thing. I also would say just kindness, and being inclusive, never making someone feel less than you, if that makes sense. I like to be a very supportive and kind person, basically.