A fast food shift turned into a whopper of a surprise for Mykale Baker.
Strangers have raised nearly $200,000 with a GoFundMe for the recent high school graduate after a customer witnessed him working a shift at a Burger King in Dacula, Georgia, while still wearing his graduation stole and medals.
According to WAGA-TV, Mykale had stopped by after the ceremony to show his fast food co-workers his garb. Noticing that they were swamped with customers, the young man jumped right in and began helping out behind the counter, graduation accoutrements and all.
That made quite an impression on Maria Mendoza, who stopped by to eat at the fast food restaurant after her daughter’s graduation.
She decided to do something to reward his work ethic and positive attitude.
“He was so kind, so polite,” Mendoza told WXIA-TV late last month.
“Radiating joy, even after such a big day. His dedication and quiet strength really moved me. I felt called to do something to recognize that,” she added.
Mendoza captured a video of Mykale serving up the fast food and shared the clip on TikTok last month in the hopes of helping him out.
“This young man deserves a scholarship!!!!” she captioned the video.
@mariabonita528 This young man deserves a scholarship!!!! @Carlos_Eduardo_Espina @Burger King #daculaga #burgerking #youngkid #graduated #hardworking #pesopluma #nuevavida ♬ NUEVA VIDA – Peso Pluma
Mendoza set up the online fundraiser, which to date has raised over $198,000 from more than 5,000 strangers.
“While many graduates spent the night celebrating with friends and family, one young man quietly showed the world what determination looks like. Just after receiving his diploma — still proudly wearing his medals — he reported to his shift at Burger King,” the GoFundMe page reads.
“He didn’t do it for attention. He doesn’t even know his story went viral. But thousands of people were moved by his dedication, humility, and work ethic,” it added.
As the fundraiser continued to grow, Mendoza returned to the restaurant to share the good news with a grateful Mykale.
“I feel amazing because I’ve watched videos of this happen, and I ain’t never think it’d happen to me,” Mykale said during an interview aired on WXIA-TV.
“I am so thankful it happened to you,” Mendoza interjected.
Mykale received another $10,000 scholarship from Burger King and the Burger King Foundation. Recognizing Mendoza’s role in the young man’s good fortune, the organization also awarded her daughter, Daizie, $10,000 for her education.
As WAGA-TV noted, the fundraiser is literally life-changing for Mykale who, prior to this well-deserved windfall, was planning to take a gap year because he couldn’t afford to further his education.
Now, he’s hoping to attend college in the fall to study automotive technology.
After decades of leftists’ attempts to demoralize each new generation of young people — especially young black men — the values of excellence and hard work endure.
An honest day’s work done with intention and joy is never wasted, and Mykale has surely experienced that in the most concrete way.
Likewise, Mendoza’s instinct to reward this young man’s achievement, bolstered by the thousands of strangers willing to help her do so, embodies the spirit of charity that exists in such abundance only in the U.S.A.
Some might say Mykale and Mendoza are exceptional — and in a sense, they are, as their virtues make them worthy of recognition — but America is chock-full of people quietly going about their lives doing the responsible and right things.
And that spirit is what makes this the greatest, most prosperous, most generous nation on Earth.
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