Workplace kindness shaped my earliest years at NCR in West Columbia, SC, where I spent nearly fourteen years before the plant finally closed and we all scattered into the wider world. When a former coworker recently created a Facebook page for past employees, faces I hadn’t seen in more than two decades appeared on my screen. How young we were. Stories poured in, each one a reminder that what stays with us isn’t the promotions or the deadlines — it’s the people who made the place feel meaningful.

I had been working full‑time for about fifteen months when the day of my US citizenship ceremony arrived. I told my team I’d be coming in late that morning. When I walked into the plant mid‑morning, patriotic signs and flags lined the hallway from the entrance all the way to the big room where my cube sat. I remember wondering what historic event I had forgotten — April held no remarkable date in US history, at least none I had studied for my citizenship test.

Then I saw it: red, white, and blue ribbons cascading from the ceiling over my cube, balloons decorated with stars, and an apple pie waiting on my desk. My eyes filled with tears. Before long, coworkers gathered — handshakes, hugs, congratulations everywhere. Covid wasn’t a concern in April 1989, so joy moved freely. A large poster board hung outside my cube, signed by people I didn’t even know. And my wonderful teammates insisted on taking me to Sandy’s for hot dogs, declaring that this was how I would become “a true American.”

My colleagues made that ordinary job extraordinary. They turned a simple workday into a moment of belonging I will never forget.

Workplace celebration Photos

It was my first full time job as a graduate engineer, a wonderful time in my life when I achieved great success . As I reach middle age, I get to redefine the semantic of my career success at NCR. I don’t want to say that E&M Columbia was a special place to work because it was not the place but rather the people who made it special. Thanks for the fond memories NCR family!

I wish you a memory bank full of beautiful stories and I hope your drive for success is not preventing you from helping others add beautiful memories to theirs.

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