By Lauren McCollum

As he grabs the handle of the front door and pulls, warmth immediately engulfs his whole body. Happy to have finally escaped winter’s embrace, he nervously searches his surroundings for the owner. Attempting to calm himself, he breathes in deeply, having instant success as the pleasant aroma of popcorn and paint fill his nose. In that moment, all his nerves fade away and he is left with pure confidence. He was going to get this job at Ace Hardware. Grabbing the application from the owner’s outstretched hand, Connor Bilden swiftly makes his way back to the door.

At age 15, a few weeks before wrestling season would start, Bilden decided it was time to get his first official job. “In Cedar Rapids I would help chalk baseball fields a lot,” said Bilden, “but I had never been in a serious working environment, or had a consistent working schedule.” While searching for a place to work, he had to keep a few personal requirements in mind. The wrestling season was quickly approaching, and he needed a job that would be flexible with the amount of hours he could work. He also needed a job that was close to where he lived, so he could easily get there at any time.

Two years later, Bilden is now 17 years old and still currently works at Ace Hardware. His weekly schedule typically consists of going in most week days after school from 4:00-8:00, and then Sunday morning from 10:00-5:00. Bilden explained that some days it feels like he never leaves the store, but working with some of his classmates makes it really fun. His favorite co-worker to be scheduled with is one of his best friends, senior Chase Martin.

Bilden loves that Ace is very easy-going and not at all stressful. Most of the time he either makes keys, mixes paint, or will help stock the store. His favorite part of working there, is helping customers find what they need, and answering their questions. “It always feels really great knowing that you helped a customer find what they were looking for, and the appreciation they show makes it feel even better,” said Bilden.

Bilden plans on continuing to work at Ace Hardware for the time being because overall he really enjoys it, and it is a great stable job to have during his senior year. In the future when he is working somewhere else, he will be able to use past experience from his very first job to help him, and will be able to look back at all the great memories he made.