? “Ba-da Ba-Ba-Ba... I’m lovin’ it.” Behind the catchy jingle and those famous golden arches there exists a team unlike any other, working diligently all over the world to provide McDonald’s world renowned products and achieving their one goal - making the customer happy. It is a team I never expected to be a part of as a child sitting in the back seat of my mother’s car, waiting impatiently for my happy meal, and it is definitely not what I would have guessed to be my very first job. Surprisingly, the business and life lessons learned from being part of that McDonald’s team will resonate for the rest of my life. I was 16 years old, and it was time to get my very first job. I noticed the “Help Wanted” sign passing by my local McDonald's. At first I thought my job as cashier would be a piece of cake. Little did I know, it would be one of the most challenging endeavors I have attempted thus far. Working at McDonald’s seemed like a joke to all my friends, but they were oblivious to the effort and dedication it takes to make the McDonald’s reputation what it is. The team’s different genders, generations, languages and cultures all had to meld together in those brief minutes from food order to delivery for this fast food operation to work. My peers and I learned to rely on each others' help to get us through the lunchtime mayhem. It didn’t matter if we all spoke English, or had varying educational backgrounds, we were a team, and we had to work together. It wasn’t just demanding customers that kept me on my toes. It seemed each week there was a new shade of shake or snack wrap. As each new product was introduced I noticed that new and different customers were coming in to try them. The weekly, sometimes daily, regulars stayed with their Big Macs and McChickens, but new customers were stopping in to try the lattes. McDonald’s was looking to increase their business by expanding their customer base. There are e