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Don't miss the action of TNA Thursday Night Impact every week on AM SIG. For show types and more information, visit TNA Wrestling.com. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way.
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This is our American Stories, and we tell stories about everything as you know. And up next, our Opportunity America series, and it's sponsored by the great folks at Coke Industries. And they make products that help improve medical devices, consumer electronics, vehicle safety, fabrics for clothing, filtration for clean water, and innovations for popular household brands. More than 65,000 people across America are employed by this great company. And today, Alex Cortez brings us the story of one of those employees.
Kelly Robinson grew up in the small town of Iola, Kansas. My father was assistant chief of police there and you know in high school we always parked on sidewalks and never in the right parking stalls and parked everywhere and the police officers would come and give us tickets. I remember sitting in fifth hour and somebody came in and said, Kelly. You have a ticket on your car. And because they always thought, well, Kelly, you know, she's never going to get a ticket.
And sure enough, I had a ticket on my car. And I looked at and I thought, oh my gosh, how am I gonna, you know. Of course, I knew my dad already knew, but you know, you try to. Be a better person. And so when I got home from school, my dad worked, he actually worked two jobs.
And I told him, I said, I got a ticket today. And he said, Were you parked on the sidewalk? And I said, yes, sir, I was. and he said okay well you know where that your allowance is going to go for the next month And I had to pay. my own parking ticket because I did the crime.
I have to do the time. And I tell you what, I don't care how far I had to walk or How late I might be to school, I never parked on the sidewalk again. I also recall several times late, late, late in the evening when my father would get calls. from other patrolmen or if there was someone in jail and they wanted to speak to my dad about it and my dad would get up, didn't matter whether he had to work the next morning or it was his off day. Everyone that called, he would always get up and...
Go and help someone in need. Even to this day, my dad is 80 years old and. He still has, he has his own business and everybody stops in to say hi to him. He's just an awesome, awesome person. Bye.
And a person with integrity. A lot of my friends growing up would get out of tickets because their parents knew someone, but her dad clearly wasn't. That kind of guy.
Well, absolutely, and I think that speaks to my family as a whole and my dad and my mother. Unfortunately, she is deceased, but my dad and how he raised us. I remember one time We go out to eat a lot, and my dad leaves tips and You know, a lot of time he would leave the money on the table and. If the waitress didn't come pick it up, you know, someone could potentially take that money and walk off with it.
Well, I remember going to a restaurant and there were my family, five of us, and we went to sit down and they sat us at a table that had not yet been completely bussed and there was money on the table. And my younger brother was going to move it, but I think my dad thought he was going to, you know, like, well, it's here, it's ours.
Well, no, it's not. And so I remember at a very young age, my dad teaching us that just because something was left there, that does not mean that's yours. I just remember lessons like that that my father used to teach us. You know, you have to work, you have to earn your money, you have to work. And I remember.
way at a very young age, the way my brothers and I made money was mowing grass in the neighborhood. And yes, I was the girl and Yes, I still went out and I mowed grass and I. Blue leaves, and I weed eated and edged and did all of that. Because that's how we made our money. There were times when we needed track shoes, basketball shoes, all of those things, but I really am so thankful that my parents instilled those values in us that nothing comes easy.
You have to work for it. And we all started working at a very young age. My first job was at McDonald's. $3.75 an hour. Oh my gosh, I loved it.
I loved meeting new people. I'm a people person, so I loved meeting new people, but yet I loved. The same people that came in every day to get their cup of coffee and their biscuit. And sometimes when they walked up, they wouldn't, I would just speak to them: hello, Mr. and Mrs.
Smith, or You know, brown or whatever, and I would get their biscuit and their coffee because I serviced them every day. And just to see them every day and be able to speak to them and say hello, it was just like it was everything. I literally loved that job, and I loved working drive-through to see the new people. I remember there was one man to this day, I will never forget. He never, he would drive through, and of course the drive-through buzzer would go off.
and he would keep going. And we all knew He was coming for his orange juice. small orange juice. and his biscuit every single morning, biscuit with cheese only. And he would never tell us and talk through the speaker.
He would drive through. and he would have his, I think it was like dollar and six cents every single morning and he would put it up there and he would go. And I used to love to run the cashier and count money back. And so. When I thought of what my life would be growing up, I always wanted to do something with numbers.
So in my mind, I wanted to be an accountant. Loving both people and numbers, Kelly at first chose a numbers career for several decades. Although at 46 years old, her heart started pulling her back towards people. But being new at the company Coke Industries, Kelly didn't think it was right to ask for something else, so she waited 4-5 years to propose applying for one of their people-oriented HR positions, which her supervisor enthusiastically supported, but she didn't get the job twice.
So she took a different opportunity that another part of the company approached her with when suddenly a college recruiting position opened.
Now mind you. I had been in that role that I had transitioned to for six months. And the actual way you're supposed to do it is have a conversation with your boss before you apply for an internal position. And I very well thought. Wow, I've been in this role six months.
I have We've had a ton of training. and I'm gonna have to have a conversation with my boss that now says Thank you for hiring me and everything that you've taught me, but... I really kind of found a role that like is my dream role that I would like to apply for. And I will share with you that I didn't do it right away. I thought about it.
I, because I was very hesitant because I was afraid of what she might say. But then I realized it's the investment was. for the company. not just you know me in that commercial role It's a win-win situation. because she's not losing, the company's gaining.
I finally decided that I was going to have that conversation with her. And I did. And so I met with her one day and I shared with her that There was a role that recently came open in the college recruiting department and I shared with her that I was very interested and I wanted to apply. And to my surprise, She was extremely supportive. The first thing she said, she looked at me and she said, Kelly, those roles do not come open very often.
You should apply. And she said, if this is what you want. then you should apply. She was very supportive. And I will share, I will tell you that.
That Those words right there. I have never and I probably will never forget because she was so supportive. They both were very supportive. And not once did I feel like she was upset. or she was, you know.
Like I've got to go back to the drawing board and get a new rec opened and hire someone and it's our busy time. We were always busy, but not once. She never held me back and she really, really, really supported my decision. And this is not just this one person. This is across the company.
I mean Most of the people, if you talk to them, They are not in the position they were hired at, and they've probably had four or five different roles since that time, and it's just being able to stay within the the same company. And moving around in different roles, learning so much about. Finance and then HR, and you might even end up in IT. They're seeing the potential in you and seeing that you could add value in this area. And yeah, while we'll lose you in the accounting arena, look at what the IT group is gaining in having you be a part of that group and what.
value you bring to the IT group.
So I think you know, just seeing that. It's kind of a Win-win for the company, right? I mean, I feel like it's a win-win. Our Opportunity America series sponsored by Coke Industries. Kelly Robinson's story here on Our American Story.
Professional wrestling fans, the action continues every week. Watch CNA Thursday Night Impact every week on AMC. is like electric Destiny blowing through. Don't miss the adrenaline, the drama, and the total non-stop action. No one can ever be as good as me.
Damn it. Don't miss the action of TNA Thursday Night Impact every week on AM SIG. For show types and more information, visit TNA Wrestling.com. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years.
And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q.
That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't-miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Experience music performances from major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks.
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