McDonald’s celebrates employees who aspire to greater heights

Mike Meoli, the owner/operator of 25 McDonald’s restaurants across the Delmarva Peninsula, led a family ceremony at the Bridgeville restaurant Aug. 7, celebrating a former employee, Quontisha Chisolm.

Meoli said Chisolm’s journey from teenage McDonald’s crew member to medical administrative assistant at Nemours Children’s Health exemplifies the ways personal ambition and the McDonald’s Archway to Opportunity program – which paid for Chisolm to get her high school diploma – come together to empower fulfilling careers and impact communities.

Chisolm received a special jacket embroidered with, In the Crew – One in Eight, which is a physical manifestation of the fact that one in eight Americans has worked at McDonald’s. Chisolm was selected to receive a jacket because of the odds she overcame and the way she proudly and determinedly embraced being “one in eight” as a launch point to a career in which she helps provide healing and comfort for children and their families.

Also celebrated was Aryah Deputy, a Seaford resident and Bridgeville employee who lost her father when she was only 13 years old. After that, “I didn’t care anymore,” she said, and she eventually stopped going to school – but she’s back on track.

“I always wanted to get my CDL, so I’m training for that career path along with getting my GED,” she said. “I hope to own my own trucking business someday.”

She continued, “Anyone can do this. It’s never too late! I’m doing it for my kids too. I want them to get their degrees. They need to understand that things happen; you live and you learn, but it’s never too late. I want the best for me and my kids. I got this.”