Folding Burritos and Streaming Jumpsuits: A Day in the Life of Tiaju McCalup

Folding Burritos and Streaming Jumpsuits: A Day in the Life of Tiaju McCalup

By Nick DeMichele, ENGL 336

Frostburg State University student and Chipotle employee Tiaju McCalup spends her days between class and her Netflix account. (Nick DeMichele)

Tiaju McCalup was nervous for her interview. In fact, she had been nervous at all of her interviews. She had been trying to land a job for months, to no avail. This day would be different, though.

The first establishment to give her a chance was none other than the Denver-based, rapidly-expanding restaurant giant and darling of young urbanites, Chipotle Mexican Grill.

She had an interview at the same location the day before. As she had walked in, her interviewer greeted her and reassured her. “Relax,” he had said, as he encouraged her to just smile. 

The interview went well, but the general manager had been busy and was unable to meet with her.

She came back the next day. McCalup would have two interviews on this day. The first would be with a “crew member,” the purpose of which was to determine her compatibility with the staff.

In the middle of this first interview, McCalup mentioned her ongoing education at Frostburg State University. Much to her surprise, her interviewer turned out to be coming to FSU in the fall. A bond was struck, and a favorable interview was completed.

The crew member asked for McCalup to wait as the interview ended. Her meeting with the general manager would now begin. A brief interview commenced, ending with the manager concurring with the favorable report. Tiaju McCalup was just hired for her first job.

A daughter among three younger brothers, McCalup was no stranger to hard work. On the FSU campus, she is a member of the Marketing Club and an Honors student. Recently, McCalup also began writing for the campus student news organization, The Bottom Line.

At Chipotle, McCalup became a member of the line crew, assembling burritos, bowls, tacos, and the like. She wants to work prep, though, because, “sometimes working with people is a little stressful.”

“Chipotle,” McCalup states, “should have Burger King’s motto.” The “have it your way” mantra is prevalent at the Mexican cuisine kitchen. Customers routinely make custom orders, asking for extra beans or cheese. One such customer, however, once gave McCalup difficulties over the chain’s policy of charging for extra meat.

A customer, claiming that McCalup gave her less than the allotted serving of meat, demanded more. After repeatedly explaining the charging policy to the customer, McCalup was asked to fetch her manager. After examining the situation, the manager complimented McCalup’s portioning and reiterated the policy to the customer.

McCalup states that this support is typical of management. “The management team wants to know about you," she elaborates. "I really love it. They go the extra mile to make employees feel welcome.” 

Not only does the Baltimore County branch of Chipotle do well by McCalup and other employees, but the national chain now provides tuition reimbursement up to the IRS limit of $5,250 annually.

In the future, McCalup hopes to branch into public relations. A communication studies major, McCalup likes the idea of coming full circle and working for Chipotle corporate public relations, a potentially poetic fulfillment of her career goal.

Currently, however, McCalup spends her days keeping up with her classwork and raising money to attend the Marketing Club’s upcoming trip to New York City. Sometimes she sees her interviewer on the FSU campus. But when she gets free time, she turns to another majorly successful startup company: Netflix. Because, at the end of the day, for as much as Chipotle can offer McCalup, only Netflix can give her the critically acclaimed “dramedy” she loves to binge-watch:  “Orange is the New Black.”