After working in the tax industry for 15 years, Kayla Wormstadt, store manager at Cubby’s in Mitchell, South Dakota, pivoted to convenience a decade ago and fell in love with the job immediately. 

“The fulfilling part of this job is that people really need us. We are essential. We make their day a little bit easier, a little bit brighter and the world really needs that,” she said. 

Nothing proved that more than when she helped a customer who had a medical emergency. She provided lifesaving CPR and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived. 

“He had collapsed, and we were trying to get him talking. Then all of a sudden he went limp and I saw his neck turning purple, so I just started doing CPR. He had no pulse for a minute and a half, but we kept going. We got him back before the ambulance arrived, and I just kept saying to him ‘My name is Kayla. You’re okay. Help is on the way and I’m here holding your hand.’”

“His family sent me a Christmas card this year,” Wormstadt said, “and just knowing he was able to be there with them was everything to me.”

Why she loves working in convenience

I’m a people person. I love the new faces and the old faces. We have everyday regulars who start off their morning here or come for their daily lunch break. We know them by name, we know their families and what’s going on with them. It’s a big family. And if we don’t know their name, we are eager to learn it. By the next time they come in, we’ve learned it. 

What she finds fulfilling about her job

We are part of people’s lives. Maybe a customer just needs someone to talk to, or we really helped them find something they didn’t even know they wanted. We can make or break their day. If we can start or end everybody’s day with a smile, just a little bit of kindness, that makes such a difference. 

Why she would encourage someone to work in convenience

It’s not a routine. Every day is something different, with new faces and old faces. It’s forever changing. There’s forever something new coming in or going out, whether it’s products or people. It’s not a job where you’re going to be bored. And if you like to meet people and talk to people, then it’s the best place.