Disclaimer: Sponsored Content paid for by McDonald’s
For Lawrence W, growing up in a single-parent household with nine siblings meant indulging in a meal outside the home was hard to come by. While his mom worked two jobs, his older brothers and sisters babysat him and the others. Money was tight growing up in their small town, so stepping outside to get a meal together was exciting, but for them, McDonald’s was always the ultimate treat.
“My oldest sister had kids. It was probably once a month or once every other month that she would either treat us to McDonald's or an ice cream cone. Going to McDonald's was our treat,” The Lexington, Kentucky, Chief of Police tells Complex.
At the time, the Kentucky-born officer’s go-to meal was “simple”: cheeseburger, fries, and a drink. These days, he’s all about the double cheeseburger, which according to him, “it’s the best kept secret at McDonald’s.”
As he grew older, it was his turn to help take care of the family and himself. So one day, he walked down the street with one of his brothers, and applied at McDonald’s. The chief worked for the Golden Arches from his sophomore year of high school until his sophomore year of college at the local university. The Bluegrass State native admittingly “hated working the cash register,” but he forced himself to do it.
“McDonald's taught me that you don't have to limit yourself,” says Chief Weathers. “You don't have to be stuck where you are. If you want to succeed, you've got to put in the effort.”
But working at McDonald’s didn’t just teach him to push himself, it taught him the importance of working in a team. “McDonald’s teaches you that if y'all don't work together, you're not going to be able to reach your goals,” says Chief W.
His time at McDonald’s came to an end when saw an ad looking to hire police officers and decided to apply. Why? Because he was all about the benefits, baby. Not knowing what he was in for, Chief Weathers ultimately left McDonald’s and started his journey as a police officer. He graduated from the Academy, and worked to move up the ranks. Sharp and good at the job, his superiors pushed him to finish college and ultimately his master’s degree.
Now, 35 five years later, he sits as the Chief of Police for his hometown, and that’s something to be proud of. Read how the Chief transformed his occasional McDonald’s visits into a major career move that prepared him for the future.
Complex: Why did you decide to start working at McDonald’s?
Chief W: I lived within walking distance to a McDonald's growing up. I grew up in a single parent household with 10 brothers and sisters,and money was hard to come by. In high school, everybody had brand-name clothes and we couldn't afford that. The only way I could afford it was to go out and get a job. There was a McDonald's close by, and then there was a grocery store. Me and my brother walked up to the McDonald's and I said, ‘I'm going to go in here and apply’ and he said he was going to apply to the grocery store. We both applied and he got the job at the grocery store and I got the job at McDonald's.
You went from only having McDonald’s as a treat to working there. What was your first thought after being hired?
When I got the job, I was like, Okay, what am I going to have to do? You either got put on the register or you got put on the grill and I got put on the grill first.
How did you balance school work and having a job?
It didn't interfere with my school a lot. When I became a senior I was allowed to work on the weekends and then work the late night shift, which is a whole different thing because you have to focus on cleaning things. McDonald's was all about keeping it clean. That still sticks with me today: quality, value, service, cleanliness.
How do those four values crossover into what you do now as Chief of Police?
It was always clean as you go. Don't leave a mess for the other person. Make sure you take care of things. Don't leave something behind for the other person. So, if something happened on your shift make sure it doesn't bleed over into the next shift. I think working at McDonald's with that mentality helps you prepare for a lot of things in life. My mother would always tell me, ‘Just because you're poor doesn't mean your house has to be dirty.’ Doesn't matter how much money you have, you can still do good, you can still be a good person. That's the way I approached my job as policing.
Did you always want to be an officer growing up?
I never wanted to be a cop. When I started college I majored in business. I was going to be a big deal business person, but when you start college you don't really know what that’s going to be like. I was still working at McDonald's while in college, but I looked for another job and it was at a hardware store. I got that job just so I could have extra money. In the summertime, I would work at the hardware store during the day and McDonald's at night. I got a promotion to a management position at the hardware store, so I quit McDonald's. But they didn't have health benefits. Still at school, I was looking through the school newspaper, and they had a job posting for police officers. I said, Hey, I'll try to do that.
Looking back, are you happy you decided to become a police officer?
I am happy. I didn't know what to expect, but it changes you. And I have to say this: I have a sister that's a couple of years older than me and she went into law enforcement, too. My sister ended up going into the police side because our school system here has its own police department. So she ended up going there, and believe it or not, she ended up being Chief of Police. I liked it because I got to meet a lot of good people, and make lifelong friends. You don't expect that from just working at a fast-food restaurant, but that's what happens.
Did you ever encourage others to work at McDonald’s with you?
I encouraged some of my friends to work at McDonald's with me, which they did. And a couple of them went on to do very well. And then, even when I got to the police department, I encouraged my friends to come work at the police department. I still see some of the people that I worked with at McDonald's regularly. We can't help but stop and talk about everything. One of the guys who trained me always wanted to be a DJ. We would make fun of him, like, Ah, yeah, you're not going to be this. He ended up being a serious DJ.
Aside from your friends, who were your biggest supporters while you were in school and working at McDonald’s?
My mother. She was my rock. I could talk to her about anything, and I did. If things were going bad or if I was depressed, I talked to her. She always had the right words to say.
How do you think working at McDonald’s prepared you to get ahead in life, personally and professionally?
McDonald's teaches you teamwork. It teaches you if y'all don't work together, you're not going to be able to reach your goals. What I learned at McDonald's was the only way you're going to succeed is if you build the right team. Now everybody may not be able to do some jobs as well as you, but they should know a little bit about that job.
At McDonald's, I hated working the cash register, but I forced myself to do it. McDonald's taught me that you don't have to limit yourself, and you can take that to any job. You can learn something, you don't have to be stuck where you are. If you want to succeed, you've got to put in the effort. And if you don't put any effort, then you're not going to go anywhere. Whenever I see people working at McDonald's, I always go, Yeah, one day you'll be here. When people see others working in fast food and they're above a certain age or something, they feel like that person's not going anywhere. No, that person's probably going more places than you probably think. My brother, Jack, my brother who played professional basketball, always told us: ‘You need to be nice to people because you never know when you're going to see them again, and you might need them.’
You have a powerful story and it's a hopeful one. What do you hope kids of color take from your story as they make their through life?
Where you are is not always where you have to be. There's value in treating people the way you would like to be treated. Listen to your elders. You don't always have to be stylish because styles come and go. Your character, your dignity and respect, those things are forever. Having integrity; being someone of character; being someone of substance outlasts style every time.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to work at McDonald's, and use that role to eventually make a larger impact on their community?
McDonald's doesn't just bring you in to be a fast-food worker, they bring you in to develop you for that leadership role. Don't just look at things on the surface. McDonald's is not just McDonald's, it's a corporation.
They want to develop business leaders who work for them so that their company lasts long. So if you want to go work at McDonald's and you're not thinking that's a career path, I got another thing for you, that is. And it might not be what you want, but you don't know what you want until you get there. It's like my current job. I only wanted it because it had health benefits and life insurance, but look what I got.
