FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Walgreens’ designated hitter, Thomas Mandrell, 23, works full-time stacking toilet paper, peanut butter, and filling in wherever needed around the store. He makes $12.85 an hour, which is a monumental step up from the $7.75 he made working at Popeye’s.

Mandrell said it was a tough battle trying to get by on that slim of a budget while working as a server at Popeye’s. Most of his money goes towards rent, car coverage, and savings. Walgreens offers its employees a well-rounded insurance policy and “after each evaluation, employees are offered a 20 percent raise, which is what is really cool about working here,” Mandrell said.

The difference between Designated Hitters and regular Walgreens employees is that they are allowed to go back into the pharmacy and fill prescriptions.

Mandrell moved to Fayetteville when he was 13 years old with his family while the rest of his family remains in Arlington, Texas. He said, “the white side of his family is still here and the Hispanic side is in Texas.” He is saving up money to move back to be a Spanish translator for his family so that they will be able to have more work opportunity and to have better connection with family members.

One of the main struggles Mandrell deals with is the language barrier between him and his family. Mandrell said this language disconnect limits his family members from work opportunities, which is why he strives to be a translator for them.

“Working at Walgreens is a really good job. It is very stable and something I can always depend on,” Mandrell said. His prior experience working at Popeye’s gave him a wide skill set that Mandrell said he believes helped him get his current job, and allowed him to move up in the company quickly.

When asked about the stress difference between working at Popeye’s and working at Walgreens, Mandrell said no matter what position you hold that it is incredibly stressful. He got his current job through a family connection, which he expressed an immense amount of gratitude because it got him out of his prior job.

Mandrell is very musically motivated, and enjoys playing the guitar in his free time. He said he likes to spend his extra cash on meaningful tattoos, and “hopes to have full sleeves on both arms one day.”

The tattoo on his left forearm is his “tree of life.” It symbolizes all of the things that motivate him and express his personality and values. This is why there are musical notes hanging from the leaves.

Even though he described the benefits of Walgreens as great, he does not want to do this forever. He is interested in getting involved in working with the law in his future back in Texas.

This chart displays that minimum wage is less than what the hourly wage is, meaning people making more the minimum amount can still be classified as working poor.

Approximately one-in-three residents of Fayetteville fall below the poverty line. Alejandro Zeballos and Abigail Jobst were among those who struggled with that fate.

Jobst, 24, originally from St. Louis, waited tables at Grubs Uptown for most of college. Even though she no longer works there, the experience showed her what poverty was like.  As a journalism student at the University of Arkansas, it was easy to balance school and work. She had to support herself after her parents stopped giving her the little they did. In 2015, Jobst met Zeballos, and they married in December of 2016. In the summer of 2017, Zeballos, an immigrant from Bolivia, lost his education visa, forcing him to lose his job at a marketing firm.

For close to six months, the married couple lived off of a servers salary alone. Being a server is inconsistent at best – especially at this location. Some nights, Jobst would leave with $350 in cash, and some nights she would leave with $19.

“I had to balance giving up things I love,” Jobst said.

Beyond the financial instability that comes with being a server, there was emotional instability as well.

Most graduates expect to get a job immediately after graduation. The majority of Jobst friends achieved jobs with salaries in the five-figures soon after leaving college, and she didn’t. This left her feeling unaccomplished and emotionally behind. Jobst did not get a job until almost a year and a half after graduation. Recently, Jobst accepted a position with the Girl Scouts of America where she is a recruitment supervisor.

For most college students and recent graduates, a job like serving is very common. The hourly wage for servers in Arkansas is lower than that in the United States as a whole. When this is the primary salary, that person immediately falls below the standard of living.

Luckily for Jobst, Zeballos had a job that brought in nearly $50,000 each year. But when his immigration paperwork failed to go through, Zeballos lost his visa, and as a result lost his job.  Jobst speaks on the immediate shock of the loss, and what they had done to prepare.

When the couple married in 2016, they knew that the deadline was coming soon to extend the work visa. They blame their predicament on how late the documents were submitted. They spent what money they had left to pay for an immigration lawyer and print documents. They spent hours making sure everything was accurate, and “printed, labeled, and put together”, Jobst said.

Seven months passed before any kind of court date, until late October 2017. Zeballos gained his green card back, and went back to work almost immediately at the marketing firm. Jobst and Zeballos were not alone in their poverty status  In Washington County, Arkansas, nearly 30 percent of residents aged 18-34 remained under the poverty level. For multi-ethnicity households, that percentage is 29%.Jobst and Zeballos met both of these criteria while living on a servers salary.

During their time below the poverty line, Jobst and Zeballos were among the statistic of multiple ethnicity households that were in poverty. The struggles of being newlyweds and living under the poverty line bring on a set of struggles.

Not only are the struggles financial, but they are also emotional. Their relationship took a toll because of the many negative factors that come with being unemployed and poor.

“That was the least close we had been,” Jobst said.

The security of having a job, a steady income, and financial stability are not only meaningful for young couples, but also necessary.

Assignment #2-20kos1o