SE: Three Wildcats Look to Apply Lessons from Fast Food Work, Kaleo Trip in Alabama to Soccer Field at K-State
Aug 08, 2018 | Soccer, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Laramie Hall, Brookelynn Entz and Ashley Zane thought they knew what hard work was after multiple seasons with K-State soccer. Then they worked at McDonald's for 40 hours a week for five weeks this summer in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
"That was a really humbling experience," Entz said of her fast food employment that was part of Kaleo, a Student Mobilization summer program that provides college students all over the country with opportunities to develop in their faith, leadership and character.
"At first, I'm not going to lie, I was, like, 'Oh my gosh. I can't do this,'" Hall said.
Whether running the front counter, the window or the grill, the three Wildcats were on their feet for eight hours a day. This in itself, Hall said, was a challenge.
"I was, like, 'I can't do this,' so I was like stretching in the back," Hall said, laughing. "As it progressed, it was a lot of fun getting to know the people that we were working with."
"I worked at Cold Stone (Creamery) before but nothing like McDonald's," Zane added, "but it made me respect fast food workers way more."
Entz agreed. But the sophomore midfielder, who led K-State in goals (five) and points (11) last season, did not get to that point without some unfortunate, yet memorable moments.
One time while working the drive-thru window, Entz was handed a buy-one-get-one-free coupon. She forgot to enter it into the computer, however, and then charged the customer full price. Instead of a refund, Entz said her paycheck was deducted.
"That happened multiple times. I ended having probably like $40 taken out of my paycheck because of that kind of stuff," she said. "It was very humbling."
Hall said all of them made these types of mistakes, frequently leading to an earful from their manager. The junior defender said her miscues usually occurred on the grill, where she often left burgers on too long. While they laughed about these moments after the fact, Hall said their collective experience working there left a strong impression on each of them.
"I just realized that no matter what I'm doing, I need to be the best at what I'm doing," she said. "So if that's making fries at McDonald's, I need to be the best at that. And then to look at that back here, it's like, 'When I go back, when I'm running I want to be the best runner that I can be or the best teammate I can be. If I'm cheering, I want to be the best cheerer I can be.' I think those little things really transferred over coming back here."
"I learned really how to work hard," added Entz. "We do work really hard in the weight room and on the field but also we have a lot of perks for what we do. At McDonald's, they're there every single day, serving people all day. They get yelled at all day. They're doing all the dirty work back there and they never really get rewarded, so I kind of got to feel what that is like."
The three Wildcats also were able to develop a deep bond with one another during those five weeks in Alabama, where they spent plenty of time on the beach. They lived together during that time, trained with one another in the humid southern conditions as much as they could and strengthened their faith along the way.
"We were, basically, constantly with each other. We'd go to work at six in the morning and right after we'd be running together. After that we'd get back together for bible study and church," said Zane, who's played in 34 matches the last two seasons for K-State, which hosts Minnesota for its final exhibition on Wednesday at 7 p.m. "We learned a lot about each other. We were really encouraging one another and it really built our friendship."
Hall and Entz both said the experience improved their vocal leadership abilities, but in different ways.
Entz said Kaleo taught her the importance of being a "humble leader because nobody wants to listen to somebody who's selfish and who only wants the glory for themselves."
For Hall, who's admittedly a "snippy person" sometimes in stressful situations, she said she's trying to be more cognizant of what she says in the heat of the moment. Because while soccer is the reason she's at K-State, Hall said, in the grand scheme of things it's a small part of her life.
"It's not worth belittling someone or saying something I'm going to regret because, in the long term, it really doesn't matter. I'm just learning how to encourage people and just be joyful in the midst of circumstances that aren't the best because that's going to happen in soccer," said Hall, who started a career-best 17 games last season. "Coming back to the team it's just really about investing in the girls here and building relationships because it's really not about me, it's about so much more."
Laramie Hall, Brookelynn Entz and Ashley Zane thought they knew what hard work was after multiple seasons with K-State soccer. Then they worked at McDonald's for 40 hours a week for five weeks this summer in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
"That was a really humbling experience," Entz said of her fast food employment that was part of Kaleo, a Student Mobilization summer program that provides college students all over the country with opportunities to develop in their faith, leadership and character.
"At first, I'm not going to lie, I was, like, 'Oh my gosh. I can't do this,'" Hall said.
Whether running the front counter, the window or the grill, the three Wildcats were on their feet for eight hours a day. This in itself, Hall said, was a challenge.
"I was, like, 'I can't do this,' so I was like stretching in the back," Hall said, laughing. "As it progressed, it was a lot of fun getting to know the people that we were working with."
"I worked at Cold Stone (Creamery) before but nothing like McDonald's," Zane added, "but it made me respect fast food workers way more."
Entz agreed. But the sophomore midfielder, who led K-State in goals (five) and points (11) last season, did not get to that point without some unfortunate, yet memorable moments.
One time while working the drive-thru window, Entz was handed a buy-one-get-one-free coupon. She forgot to enter it into the computer, however, and then charged the customer full price. Instead of a refund, Entz said her paycheck was deducted.
"That happened multiple times. I ended having probably like $40 taken out of my paycheck because of that kind of stuff," she said. "It was very humbling."
Hall said all of them made these types of mistakes, frequently leading to an earful from their manager. The junior defender said her miscues usually occurred on the grill, where she often left burgers on too long. While they laughed about these moments after the fact, Hall said their collective experience working there left a strong impression on each of them.
"I just realized that no matter what I'm doing, I need to be the best at what I'm doing," she said. "So if that's making fries at McDonald's, I need to be the best at that. And then to look at that back here, it's like, 'When I go back, when I'm running I want to be the best runner that I can be or the best teammate I can be. If I'm cheering, I want to be the best cheerer I can be.' I think those little things really transferred over coming back here."
"I learned really how to work hard," added Entz. "We do work really hard in the weight room and on the field but also we have a lot of perks for what we do. At McDonald's, they're there every single day, serving people all day. They get yelled at all day. They're doing all the dirty work back there and they never really get rewarded, so I kind of got to feel what that is like."
The three Wildcats also were able to develop a deep bond with one another during those five weeks in Alabama, where they spent plenty of time on the beach. They lived together during that time, trained with one another in the humid southern conditions as much as they could and strengthened their faith along the way.
"We were, basically, constantly with each other. We'd go to work at six in the morning and right after we'd be running together. After that we'd get back together for bible study and church," said Zane, who's played in 34 matches the last two seasons for K-State, which hosts Minnesota for its final exhibition on Wednesday at 7 p.m. "We learned a lot about each other. We were really encouraging one another and it really built our friendship."
Hall and Entz both said the experience improved their vocal leadership abilities, but in different ways.
Entz said Kaleo taught her the importance of being a "humble leader because nobody wants to listen to somebody who's selfish and who only wants the glory for themselves."
For Hall, who's admittedly a "snippy person" sometimes in stressful situations, she said she's trying to be more cognizant of what she says in the heat of the moment. Because while soccer is the reason she's at K-State, Hall said, in the grand scheme of things it's a small part of her life.
"It's not worth belittling someone or saying something I'm going to regret because, in the long term, it really doesn't matter. I'm just learning how to encourage people and just be joyful in the midst of circumstances that aren't the best because that's going to happen in soccer," said Hall, who started a career-best 17 games last season. "Coming back to the team it's just really about investing in the girls here and building relationships because it's really not about me, it's about so much more."
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