As a 16-year-old, I was spending my time outside of school and homework looking for a job like any other teenager. While scouring the internet one day toward the end of summer before my junior year of high school, I saw a job posting for an Aerie store at my local mall. My mom works in retail and has for my entire life, so I felt like I had the knowledge to work in that industry from watching her. With a resume with no work experience and only school activities on it, I took my chances and applied for a sales associate position.
I was with my mom when I got a call from Aerie for an interview. My mom said to me, “are you serious, Arba? You applied for a retail job even after what I told you?” She told me to never work in retail because it will kill your spirit and humanity, which I clearly did not listen to. After she saw how excited I was to get a call back, she did not want to burst my bubble and forced my dad to drive me to my interview the following week at 9 a.m.
That was six years ago and I now have walked through the same Aerie store doors hundreds of times for work. I went from being the youngest person working at my home store when I first started working there to being the most senior employee by tenure. After outlasting four store managers, a dozen managers and a very large amount of regular sales associates, it has become a running joke that even when the world ends, I will still be working at Aerie, making sure all the bras are organized and the fitting rooms are cleaned out of go-backs. I was working every weekend during my junior and senior year of high school. Like clockwork, I call the store the week after finals in May and December to give my availability (which is always fully open) during breaks. To this day, I have worked every Black Friday, New Years Day, and any other holiday that pays time and a half since 2017. During my last shift before going back to school, I always tell my store manager, “Before you ask, you know you got me for my next break so I’ll let you know when my first day back is.”
Being 22 years old and still working at my “first” job is something uncommon among other people my age. By now, other people who are in their early 20s have worked two, sometimes even three jobs due to two reasons: 1) They are building their resumes or 2) They outgrew their previous jobs and are looking for something new. Part of the reason why I’ve stayed at the same job is because of pure laziness. I don’t want to leave my job at Aerie just to “start over” at a new job and new workplace with new people. After being at Aerie for six years, I have learned the ins and outs of the store and the company. I have been salesfloor, stockroom, shipment, merchandise, and manager trained from either formal training or just learning on the fly from my management team.
Another reason why I have stayed at Aerie for as long as I have because of the people. It’s extremely rare to be in a healthy work environment for a long period of time. I am extremely lucky that in the past six years, I’ve never experienced extreme toxicity at Aerie. Everyone I’ve worked with, either a handful of times or for a few years, has been amazing and lovely. I’ve never had any hand in the tiny amount of work drama and had good relationships with all my coworkers and managers. Another small perk of working at Aerie is the employee discount and I refuse to let go of it, especially the discount for American Eagle.
Being at Aerie for so long has also proved to be beneficial to me for my professional career. I was able to intern at the corporate level in New York city at the AEO, inc. Design Office during the summer of 2022 because of my strong network connections with my store and district managers. The first question during my internship interview was “You have been at your home store for many years! Why have you been there for as long as you have?” which I find hilariously ironic since I found myself back in the store during winter break that year.
Aerie has become a part of my personality and I am totally fine with that. When my coworkers ask me if I will be back during winter and summer break. My go-to response is, “Of course! Let’s be honest, where else would I be? I have nowhere else to go.” It is meant to be a joke, but it stands very true. You can take me out of my Aerie store but you can’t take the Aerie out of me.
As I always say at the end of my shifts, be sure to #AerieReal!