Growing up, Associate Principal Michael Franklin was never familiar with golfing. Nonetheless, Franklin found himself working as a caddie for a golfer, an experience he said he’ll never forget.

While he was attending Rockhurst University, he met a friend who attended the neighboring University of Missouri-Kansas City.

His friend, Robert Russell, was a very talented golfer who introduced Franklin to the sport. Later on, he asked Franklin to join him for an upcoming National Golf Association tour, the NGA Hooters Tour, as his caddie.

“I didn’t know much about golf. I had been on a golf course before, but I thought the job sounded fun because you got to travel all over the country and spend the weekend in different towns,” Franklin said.

Franklin traveled mostly across the southeast to states including Florida, Texas, South and North Carolina, Arkansas and Alabama. One state particularly stuck out to Franklin.

“North Carolina was by far my favorite. The scenery was beautiful and it had a lot of golf history which was very cool,” he said.

After three months of being a caddie, although he very much enjoyed the opportunity to travel, he decided to start working in his career field.

Nonetheless, Franklin still has a love for golf.

“I actually fell in love with golf when I was out there and I even still play because of that,” he said.

When searching for a job during college, art teacher Olivia Jaeger stumbled upon the opportunity to work at Trader Joe’s. But her first plan was not to become the store’s artist.

Trader Joe’s had always been a prominent fixture in Jaeger’s day-to-day life as it was a favorite spot of hers to shop, so her decision to apply for a job there wasn’t out of the ordinary.

“I’ve always had a weird obsession with Trader Joe’s, so it seemed like the obvious first choice to apply to when I moved home at the start of COVID-19. I didn’t even know every store had their own artist, but when I asked to apply as a regular employee, the manager mentioned that role and that I might be a good fit for it,” she said.

After deciding to apply for the position of store artist, Jaeger went through a series of interviews which included having to show portfolios of work she had done previously.

After she received the job, she quickly began working at the store and became its main artist.

Jaeger’s job consisted of making signs about items around the store and creating special art for any upcoming events or holidays.

“Every individual item in the store has its own sign and then a little descriptor on it of what the product is or what you can use it with and then there is also chalkboards all around for different holidays. I would design and make those types of things,” she said.

During the pandemic, Jaeger said she especially enjoyed creating chalk art that welcomed customers and other people who passed by the area.

“We would decorate the sidewalks all of the time which I really liked to do,” she said.