The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Carri C. during the 2007-2008 League.
Interview With a Local Leader #5 - Mrs. O'Neill, Business Owner
Mrs. O'Neil went to Fairstate University for one year. Later she joined the Air Force and finished 4 years of college through them, and recieved her Associate's degree. She worked as a head Pastor's secretary after attending Fairstate. After the Air Force she had a job at a bank in the Loan Department. She was also a Night Auditor in a hotel and an Office Manager at one point. Then she and her husband bought Scoops (an ice cream shop) and they have owned that for 16 years now.
Q: What motivated you to seek your current position?
A: Well, my very first job when I was 16 was in an ice cream shop, and I loved it and I love ice cream. When my husband and I got married, we talked early on about how we wanted to own our own business. So we had been looking for about two years at ice cream shops, in particular, and finally found one. It wasn't on sale at the time. I made an offer, we negotiated, and we bought it.
Q: What training do you think is important to prepare for your position?
A: Well, I had some food service backround, it's good for sanitation, food prep, and making recipes. I have a little bit of an accounting backround, and I do all of my own books here, so that helps tremendously.
Q: What are some of the biggest rewards of your job?
A: The biggest one I guess is you always get to be your own boss. It's very rewarding to bring in new employees that don't know a thing about what they are doing, most of them are very young, watching them grow and learn. They learn a lot of things while they are working here, not just food in general, but showing up at work on time, and working with other people.
Q: What are the biggest challenges?
A: The hours, definitely.
Q: What role, if any, does your faith play in your profession?
A: We are trying to run a Christian business, we try to let our customers know that this is a Christian business through the music we choose, through Bible verses that we have on our menus, we hope the way we act, what they see through us and our employees, as well.
