Mrs. Crystler

My first job was at my swimclub food stand when I was 14-- The summer before highschool. Being a lifegaurd was more glamorous but I really liked Chrsitine and she asked me to do it. She was super athletic and had a daughter my age who swam faster than me. Once I remember wrapping an oreo in a hot dog bun and putting it in the deep fryer, and one of the Dads daring her to eat it. She told him, "You know I don't eat that crap!" One time overslept for my shift and I was so so anxious as I rode by bike over there, calling her frantically. I remember her being really nice about it. Shoutout Christine

Daryll

The next summer, I got a second job at the local AMC. I remember Daryll interviewing me with random improv questions and then being impressed that I answered okay. He made me feel flattered... I was proud of myself for getting that job. Daryll was big on selling STUBs memberships and I was addicted to his praise. I became one of the top salespeople, really believed in the product (lol). After this summer I went to Germany for a year and when I came back to my job at AMC, he wasn't there anymore. It wasn't as fun without him.

Jenn

This boss hated my guts... Ashley got me this job as a hostess at that breakfast restaurant. Yes, the same Jen! I was not a good hostess to be fair, and although ashley got me the job she was also my ex, and I think that negatively colored their perception of me. Plus, 1 month into this 3-month stint, my boyfriend assaulted me, and they started calling me "saddie" because I was... sad. I quit before the summer was over bc I hated that place so much, genuinely my worst work experience.

Sam

During my second semester of college, I worked at the Barnes Noble Starbucks in Willow Grove. My boss was a lesbian named sam who loved reading and sometimes drove me back to campus. She was only in her 20s and I felt like we were friends. Not a bad job but the barnes and noble shut down.

Hilary

I was a research assistant to one of my professors for most of college. She had red hair and thick mascara and mostly did discourse analysis about migration politics at the US/ Mexico border. I summarized articles and coded some phrases for her. She was cool, and I liked the work, but I just emailed her for a masters reference and shes not answering me... hm....

Judith

I love Judith so much. She changed the trajectory of my life at least once, maybe twice. She was my boss at the music hall I worked at for most of college. The job was perfect because I could walk there, the pay was good ($15 an hour... big money for me back then), and the shifts didn't conflict with classes. Judith dressed only in black, could usually be found out front with a cigarette and a coffee. She wrote a book about the theater and had a history masters. Judith didn't really interview people-- she would let just about anyone to come do a test shift and then decide if they were hired. I did everything front of house-- security, box office, operations. She made up this position called "show attendant," which was basically all the operational parts of being a house manager. My current partner Deryk trained me in that job. That's how we met. He had already been working there for 3 years. He still has a set of keys to the theater on his key ring, though neither of us have worked there in years. They love him there. Our coworkers didn't know we were dating for a long time... except judith, who would give a wry little smile when she dismissed us home at the same time. The theater shut down for awhile during the pandemic so I didn't work there for awhile. After graduating, I got a fulltime job at a call center, and I hated it so much that after 6 months I had a crisis. Deryk told Judith how much I hated it, and she invited me to come get lunch with her. I took the train back into the suburbs and she fed me Greek food and gave me printouts of jobs I should apply for. She told me I could quit my job and come bartend for the Keswick until I found something better. And I did! And she gave me my partner, in a way. The next job I got was at a different theater and she was my reference. So maybe that's 3 times she changed my life. I love her and that theater.

Crystal

My boss at the call center. She was beautiful and had lash extensions and pretty long nails. I remember staring at them when I quit... she had lavender tips that day. I know she was disappointed in me because the call center had a really high turnover rate and all the supervisors were in competition to keep their cohort. Sorry I couldn't hack it Crystal

Mackenzie

My boss at the Barnes. I took a very part time job overseeing events at the Barnes after graduating. Mostly I just watched rich people have crazy weddings and made sure no one scratched the floors. I loved Mackenzie. I liked how she talked to me and the other event managers. Positive but direct. Mackenzie was my reference for my next two jobs and sometimes I see her at networking events for philly events people. I'm always glad to see her

Katie

I worked 2 shows as a house manager at the Arden theatre after leaving the call center. We did Streetcar, the first show since the pandemic. A lot of my job was figuring out our covid protocals. We were all still masking, so it was my job to argue with the people who refused. I also trained the all-new FoH staff. My boss Katie taught me a lot. She was this super sweet theater nerd who had worked at the Arden for a long time and didn't get paid enough. she was really in it for the love of the game but she was engaged and the poor pay was starting to wear her down. I left before the season was over because I got a job at a non-profit that basically doubled my pay. I was wrecked about having to quit to Katie. I felt terrible. But she was so happy for me! She said I "had grace and poise beyond my years." She said that as I was quitting to her mid season. We cried! Probably because all the covid stuff had been so intense. She ended up leaving the theater not long after that.

Rachele

My boss at the non-profit. I love Rachele! She was a real mentor to me. She hired me to help her with the fundraising events. I felt like her assistant sometimes, but that felt good. I liked her and wanted to make her life easier. Rachele is very competent and a little neurotic. Leadership kind of took advantage of how good she was, and she got burned out and quit. She took a paycut to work in higher ed in a less stressful position. I don't think I really appreciated how good I had it with her until she left right before a huge event. That's when I started to want to leave too, and she helped me get a job in higher ed.

Sarah

My current boss. I love her and am so lucky to have her. She's catholic and a soccer nerd, which is the kind of person I'm most at home with. Weirdly enough her family is from the same dinky little farm town in ireland as my partner's family. Sarah is very good at what she does in a way that is similar to Rachele, but she also has 2 little kids, which I think gives her more perspective. I have a lot of respect for her. It's kind of weird having a boss who does basically the same job as you, but better. She's like my mandatory mentor. I want to be at this job for a good few years and I want her to keep being my boss. I am grateful for all the bosses before who led me to this job with Sarah