Few of us knew what we wanted to do with our lives when we got our first summer jobs as teenagers — I certainly didn’t. But we often learn valuable lessons from that work all the same, and it often shapes who we become. The various jobs I had as a teen all have a throughline with the work I do today. 

Outside of babysitting, my first job involved working for an older woman, Lillian Leppke, who attended our church. Everyone over 40 seems ancient when you’re a teenager, so Ms. Leppke probably wasn’t as elderly as I thought at the time. But health conditions limited her ability to do yardwork on her own, and she needed to hire help. I came at the right price, and she trusted me because our families knew each other. 

I was a young teenager when my mom dropped me off at her house to mow, pull weeds, and do other assorted yardwork. It was hot, and I found the lawnmower somewhat frightening. But I remember best that Ms. Leppke always insisted on taking a break for lunch. She would make a meal, and we’d sit together to eat and chat. 

While many kids that age feel awkward socializing with an older person, it felt natural. I enjoyed sitting down to eat and enjoyed her company. I discovered early on that I felt comfortable spending time with people from earlier generations. 

I learned more about people different from myself during my next summer job at Kentucky Fried Chicken. My co-workers came from all walks of life. Some were teens like me looking for pocket money, others were working-class people with multiple jobs, and some preferred the environment to a desk job. 

One summer in fast food was enough for me, but I did learn a few things about the working world during my time at KFC. It was my first experience working somewhere that had no downtime. If it wasn’t busy with customers, there was plenty else to do. I also enjoyed seeing how a business works at such a high volume. It might have been the start of my interest in operational procedures.

The last job I worked during high school was as a nursing assistant. My school had a course that trained us, and we did clinical hours at the local hospital. That type of workplace isn’t for everyone, but I didn’t find caring for sick people stressful or emotionally overwhelming. Instead, the idea of helping them in some way energized me. 

Believe it or not, I also enjoyed being in the hospital. A hospital is like a little self-contained city with laundry, a cafeteria, and everything else you need. The systems and processing side of my thinking was thrilled, and for years I thought I might end up spending my career in medicine. 

Of course, I became an estate planning attorney instead. But all three of those jobs taught me a little bit about myself to lead me here. 

Ms. Leppke taught me the value of a hard day’s work and that cross-generational communication comes naturally to me. KFC gave me a peek inside how businesses operate and taught me to work with all types of people. Finally, working as a nursing assistant confirmed my passion for structural organization and prepared me to stay level-headed during challenging and emotional conversations.

These are all skills I use every day in running Promise Law. It wasn’t necessarily what I was after, but in the end, the part-time jobs of my youth provided me with much more than a meager weekly paycheck. 

-Geneva Perry