After my freshman year of college, I tripped and fell into one of the best situations for internships I could have come across as a lowly freshman. Out of the blue, I got an email asking for an interview in early June, way past when I had already written off hearing back. I interviewed and got the job at Bon Secours Health System in Richmond, VA, one of the largest companies in the area. My title: Executive Administration Intern. Essentially I was working at a multi-billion-dollar company at their flagship hospital in the executive suite. Toward the end of summer, I found myself giving a presentation to the CEO in front of the executive management team. At the end of the summer I was asked to stay and even worked on a limited basis throughout the school year. What else could I ask for?

The following summer I applied to a few reach jobs knowing I had the opportunity to come back to Bon Secours. I ended up not being so lucky this summer and planned on returning to Bon Secours. However, where I thought they would have full-time projects for me to work on over the summer, my supervisor moved on, and my new boss only had a few projects for me to work on. I enjoyed the free time for a few weeks until I got a little anxious and felt my week needed some more work hours. I was eating lunch at Chipotle one day and I noticed a little “Chipotle Careers” advertisement next to the tabasco sauces. A week later I filled out my online application.

I came in for an interview about a week or two later. The interview had three rounds and I found myself being interviewed by a high school crew member in the first round. Ouch. I self admittedly have a pretty big ego and I was a little off-put by answering questions from a high schooler. I finally interviewed with the manager and was informed I got the job. About eight people came into interviews that day and as I left I asked the manager how many other people got offers. He replied “no one.”

I felt a little guilty, like I was taking I this job for granted. I even felt a little embarrassed to be working at Chipotle and here people are getting turned away. I knew many of college peers would be simply unwilling to work a job in fast food. It seems nowadays any college student will take a job that has “intern” in the title to avoid working at a place like Chipotle. By working at the closest Chipotle to my college campus I knew quite a few people I would be serving would be my classmates- I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

My first day on the job I was told I would be working in the “back of the house.” My job was to marinate meats, prepare fresh cut vegetables, make rice, and most importantly wash dishes. To put it simply, washing dishes sucks. I quickly realized that this was the hardest job I have ever had. Not only was it hard but I was also quite poor at it. I needed constant help from my crew members who were all more efficient than I was, and were always waiting on me to finish. It was stressful. The business world where one can sit behind a desk and casually type at a computer seemed relaxed by comparison. I would picture myself dressed in a suit sitting in the board room as the grill would bring back a stack of dirty dishes, not to mention I was even getting paid less than I did as a lifeguard in high school. But this was certainly the most rewarding job I have ever had. The reason why? Perspective.

I would be the first to tell you I live in a sheltered world. I go to college, my parents can afford it, I have a good support system, and throughout my life, I have had authority figures to lead me in the right direction. These are simple things myself and a lot of other college students take for granted are very important. I would argue, at least in my case, my privileges a have made me a little complacent. It may be the reason why I was a little embarrassed to work at Chipotle; a part of me that I don’t like to embrace may have thought I was above such a job, or overqualified. Truth is I am not. I am a 20-year-old college student. I am above nothing.

One may think that people working in fast food don’t care about their job or are lazy. In my experience, that is far from the case. Many of my coworkers were some of the hardest working people I have ever met, and took and an extreme amount of pride in their job. They would take more pride in making sure every dish was spotless than I would in my homework. Where interns I have worked with would celebrate a long lunch break, my Chipotle crew members would cut their 30-minute break short to keep the restaurant moving. Almost every shift someone would stay a few minutes to even hours extra off the clock to help out. I had never seen that kind of dedication and pride before. My coworkers would work harder for an average of $9 an hour than I had witnessed people work ever -- and many of them were working to pay rent or support their family. It was eye opening.

I may have thought I was gaining professional experience from presenting in front of a CEO, but that experience dwarfs the virtues of hard work and perspective that I gained from Chipotle. I thought I was a high-achieving college student, and maybe I still am, but I can’t help but feel maybe I have been a little lazy, selfish and took what I had for granted in the past. I hopefully no longer will. And please, next time you go to Chipotle or any other restaurant, please drop some change in the tip jar. Your meal takes a lot of hard work.