Rakiyah Turner was a proud employee of Panera Bread. She worked food prep for six months, but also served as a cashier taking orders. While she was in that job, she also learned how to cook and interact with customers. She says she worked about 35 hours per week, which kept her busy.

Turner’s job required consistency. In her words. “This job taught me a lot because you have to stay on task and remember things,” she said. The first day of her job she immediately was on the schedule.

Turner described the rules for the work space: You’d have to wear a Panera Bread apron and sport your choice of black pants. The procedure was pretty standard. First she’d clock in, figure out her position, and communicate with her manager and store owner. Then she’d tend to customers’ needs and take orders, working behind the register.

This was not Turner’s first job. She worked at Carl’s Jr.’s and a place called “Sunshine Smoothies” and she learned a lot about working through these jobs. “Jobs teach you to work in a fast paced environment,” she said. On the job, she was always kept on her toes, tending to customers and interacting with her staff team as well as fellow employees.

Turner loved working at Panera Bread, and her favorite thing about the job was the people and staff she interacted with. “I was comfortable there. I felt like I could express myself,” she said.

While she felt comfortable in the job, there were challenges. The most difficult part about the job, Turner said, was getting there in the first place. “As a teenager in high school, it was hard to transport myself all the way to Vallejo and get there on time.”

Turner said that there is something she wished she knew before she applied is to any of her jobs. “Spend time getting to know your coworkers,” she suggested. “Do something that is going to make you happy. Spend time, and have fun.”