Carolyn Miller

My aunt encouraged me to work in the cafeteria because it would be perfect for school hours when my child got older. Before I got pregnant, I was in a radiology technician school at the hospital - it was a two-year course, and you could not get pregnant in the first year. I got pregnant in my first year and had to drop out. I started as a sub with the school board, then went to an assistant position at Carlton Palmer. After having another child and coming back, I was at Oscar J. Polk for about a year where the manager started training me. During that summer, I started a manager internship for a year and was put at Lime Street Elementary, and from there to Lincoln where I stayed for close to 31 years. I loved my job - it was very rewarding. The children were amazing, and the staff was too. I have so many children that have come through Lincoln all those years, and to have a reflection on a child that they come back and see me after so many years brings me to tears. One young man came to see me before he went off to boot camp for the Marines to tell me that I influenced his life by just being kind to them, checking up on them, and making sure they were eating healthy. It means a lot to put an imprint on a child's life and have them remember you for all those years. Last year during the graduate walkthrough at Lincoln, one young lady and her mother came by and I was crying because they came in and thanked me for all those years of taking care of them in the cafeteria.