She finally caved under her parents’ pressure and set up an interview. They had been bugging her for over a year to get a job, but she felt so busy already with school and multiple sports that she didn’t think she’d have the time. Plus, she really enjoyed her few lazy weekends. But, if she had to work, she knew exactly where she wanted to go. Ice cream was her favorite food, especially a certain Chocolate Caramel Cookie Dough.
Working started to become even more fun than sports and she started picking up more and more shifts. Her friends she made at Ben & Jerrys had become some of her best and she wanted to be around them more. Plus, a free ice cream after a shift made it even more worth it!
She had already been there two months and was told she needed to attend a mandatory training. Though she had no idea what it was about she planned to pick up her friend so they could go together. They showed up and there were new flavor samples to try and a presentation about climate change and how the impact that creating ice cream had on the planet and what they were committed to do about it. It was coincidental because they were currently learning about greenhouse gases in Science class and she had become really passionate about positively impacting climate change. Not only were they educating the team about how important it was to be informed about climate change, but they shared how they were installing a solar array at one of their factories that would supply over a third of the energy to power it.
As she got into the car that night, full of ice cream and a newfound love for Ben & Jerry’s, she asked her friend why she took a job there.
“Because I love ice cream!” they both laughed together.
“Me too…but man…this place is way cooler than I thought it would be.” she replied.
Her parents asked her what the late work meeting was about and she was so excited she couldn’t stop talking. She shared every detail of that presentation as if she had given it. They had no idea she cared so much about climate change.
As a senior in high school and this being her first job, she hadn’t been exposed to many different organizations yet. But, she knew if she ever left Ben & Jerry’s that it would be hard to compete with the pride she felt in working for that organization. She had no idea what all went into the company until now. It was inspiring; their long term vision of making sure that they left the planet as good or better than when they entered it. Their ability to impact the world through their love of ice cream was a dream come true for her.
