By Caidyn Bender ‘26
Have you ever wondered how your mom has gotten to where she is now? How she started her early career, or how she was able to get up on her feet and make a living for herself? If you haven’t ever considered asking your mother about her early days, you may find some very interesting experiences and stories she will tell you.
Christina Bender, now working at Conestoga Valley High School, is one of the hardest working people I know. She shared with me her experiences as a kid and young adult, and her early career. She explained her family dynamic with her brother, who were both common troublemakers, and how she was the “ringleader” of their mischievous activities.
“I mean, I wasn’t, like, a bad kid, but I definitely didn’t follow the rules much,” she said. “I was the type who’d… push the limits. And I got grounded a lot. I mean, a lot.”
She explained a story of when her and her brother snuck out at night and took her dad’s truck for a little drive. “I never felt like they didn’t care,” she said. “They were somewhat strict, but I think they just wanted to make sure we didn’t get into too much trouble.”
Looking back, those were the best times of her life. “Honestly, some of my best memories were just doing simple stuff like that, even when I was in trouble,” she concluded.
After explaining a little bit more about her childhood, we transitioned into more about her early career. She explained her first job was at Burger King, working behind the counter. “I just wanted to be independent, I think. I felt like it was time to do something different. I got my first job at Burger King. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was a job,” she explained. “I wasn’t exactly used to the structure of a regular job,” she continued. “But I got the hang of it, you know?”
My mom told me more about her responsibilities at Burger King, like cleaning, taking customers’ orders, and some money handling.
When asked about her next job at QVC, she said, “I had made my way up to floor manager, overseeing the employees and doing office work.” She paused and continued, “I wasn’t constantly running around like I was at Burger King, and it felt like I was doing something that mattered.”
It was a big change to go from a trouble-making kid to a responsible manager. Bender noted, “I started to appreciate the importance of organization and helping others in a meaningful way. It was definitely a big shift, but one I needed.”
Wrapping our interview up, I asked a bit more of the lessons she had learned, especially from all the times she was grounded.
“It sounds kind of crazy, but I think getting grounded all the time actually helped me understand the consequences and how important it is to take responsibility for your actions,” she said. “And, I guess, it taught me to appreciate the times when I wasn’t in trouble and could just… enjoy life.”
Before we ended, I asked one more question: If you could go back and talk to your younger self, what would you say? She thought for a moment and decided, “I’d probably tell myself to stop worrying so much about being perfect. I spent so much time trying to follow, and bend, the rules and make everything just right. But honestly, it’s okay to mess up sometimes, or a lot in my case,” she laughed. “It’s part of growing up, and you learn more from the mistakes than anything else.”