An Army of Normal Folks - What An 18-Year-Old Can Teach Us About Pride, Purpose, and Work

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

An 18-year-old clocked into Burger King on his graduation night—not because he had to, but because his teammates needed him to. In this Shop Talk, we unpack how his quiet dedication sparked a viral ripple of generosity and what it can teach all of us about pride, purpose, and work. Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, everybody. It's Bill Courtney. Welcome back to Shop Talk 904. What an 18-year-old can teach us about pride, purpose, and work. Does it dawn on you that when I ring that bell and we're talking into this big microphone that this is kind of like a 1950s radio show where they do that before you start tapping? Do they do all the noises? I miss that stuff. Actually, I'm thinking of what was the Robin Williams movie, Vietnam?

Good Morning Vietnam. I don't think I've seen it. What? Apparently I should, though. You are the biggest loser. Have you never seen Good Morning Vietnam? I know I'm a big loser. All right.

You really, honestly, that is on, all right. You assign me stuff to do all the time. I'm giving you an assignment. It's debatable whether you do it, but. Go watch Good Morning Vietnam. Is it, is it? Is it a comedy given Robin Williams? Is it?

Oh, it is. Well, it's a serious subject. matter of the Vietnam War, but it is absolutely hilarious. But the reason I want you to watch it is because he's a DJ, and he's the guy that challenges the norms of the late 60s DJs who used to do the bells and the walking and all that. Yeah. And he just blew it up, and he plays a guy named Adrian Kronauer, I think, is the person's, the subject that he plays.

Yeah. And that's the guy that led to the modern-day DJ. Oh, interesting. It actually is interesting. It's all about stuff that you're into. Have you seen In Glorious Bastards? Yes. That sounds like the equivalent of that.

Good Morning Vietnam makes it glorious bastards. Really? Yes. We're going to have to edit that word out. Okay. Go watch. Go just bleep it. Everybody will know what it is.

We do believe it. Yeah. But you need to watch. I cannot believe you've never seen that movie. You will love it. Just please go watch it. With all that free time, I got. when you're not doing anything else.

Okay. Do we even throw out of the ad break yet? I don't think we have, right? Yeah. Yeah, we're back. Oh, we are? Yeah. That's right.

We just came off an ad break. You need some sleep. Yeah, all right. All right. So when an 18-year-old... Insert ad break here. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than no grip,

a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. join me Lily Herman as we dive into the under-explored pockets of F-1, including the astrology of the current grid. Lewis Hamilton, Crapicorn Sun, Cancer Moon. Wouldn't you know it? Michael Schumacher is also a Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon. The story of the sport's most consequential driver strike. We have one man who, upon hearing that he was going to be fired,

freaked out, and apparently climbed out the window of the bathroom. And was Daniel Ricardo's illustrious F-1 career, a success story, a cautionary tale, or some combination of. both. He started getting all this attention and he maybe started to think, I'm bigger than this, I'm better, and plenty of other mishaped scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent, gumster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no grip on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, a story gripped the UK, evoking horror and disbelief. A nurse who should have been in charge of caring for

Tiny Babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British history. Everyone thought they knew how it ended. A verdict? A villain. A nurse named Lucy Letby. Lucy Letby has been found guilty. But what if we didn't get the whole story? The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapses.

I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, doubt the case of Lucy Lettby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived it. To ask what really happened. when the world decided who Lucy Lettby was. No voicing of any skepticism or doubt. It'll cause so much harm at every single level of the British establishment of this is wrong. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby

on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. China's Ministry of State Security is one of the most mysterious and powerful spy agencies in the world. But in 2017, the FBI got inside. This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall. This MSS officer has no idea the U.S. government is on to him. But the FBI has his chats, texts, emails, even his personal diary.

Hear how they got it on the Sixth Bureau podcast. I now have several terabytes of an MSS officer, no doubt, no question, of his life. And that's the unicorn. No one had ever seen anything like that. It was unbelievable. This is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets.

Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. He pulls the gun. Tells me to lie down on the ground. He identified Tremaine Hudson as the perpetrator.

Germain was sentenced to 99 years. I'm like, Lord, this can't be real. I thought it was a mistaken identity. The best lie is partial truth. For 22 years, only 20. Two people knew the truth until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All right, go ahead. What an 18-year-old can teach us about pride, purpose, and work. It's from a Facebook page named Professor Kalku. I have no idea how to say that. Well, it's from a Facebook page named Professor C-A-L-C-U-E-C-U-E-C-C-U-E. On the evening of May 21, 2025, McKell Baker graduated from Mill Creek High School in Hoshin, Georgia. He walked across the stage, received his diploma,

and wore medals around his neck, honoring his achievements in marching band and track and field. His classmates had voted him, most selfless person. That night, he would prove exactly why. After the ceremony, McAil and his parents stopped by the Burger King in Dacula, Georgia, not Dracula, but Dacula, Georgia, where he had been working since February to save money for his future. He was not scheduled for a shift.

He just wanted to say hello to his coworkers and show off his cap and gown. But when he walked in, the restaurant was slammed. Only three employees were on the floor, struggling to keep up with a rush of late-night orders. Food was backing up. The line was growing, his teammates were overwhelmed. McKell didn't even think about it. He just clocked him. Still wearing his graduation medals,

he pulled on a pair of plastic gloves and started filling orders, onion rings, drive-thru bags, whatever needed doing. He was smiling the entire time, not because it was glamorous work, but because he was proud of himself and happy to help.

At the same moment, Maria Mendoza was sitting in the drive-through lane. She had just come from the same graduation ceremony. Her daughter, Daisy Chavez, was a member of the same class of over 700 students. Mendoza did not know Mikhail, but when she looked through the window and saw a young man in graduation mantles

working the counter while his classmates were celebrating something stopped her. She pulled out her phone and quality recorded a 20-second video. She posted on TikTok with a simple caption, TikTok, Do Your Thing. Within days, the video had been viewed over three million times. The comments poured in from strangers across the country. People called Mikhail inspiring.

They said his future is bright. They asked the same question over and over. How can we help this young man? Mendoza had an answer. She launched a GoFundMe page titled From Burger King to College Dream. When she returned to the restaurant a few days later to tell Mikhail about it, the fund had already raised $6,000. When Mendoza told McHale and his mother both were overcome with emotion,

His mother, wearing a proud mom's shirt, could barely hold back tears. In the days that followed, the donations did not slow down. They accelerated. Thousands of people, most of them complete strangers, gave what they could. $5 here, $20 there, $100 gifts with notes that read, your work ethic and grind is contagious. We are rooting for you. One donor, a first-generation college graduate from Fresno wrote,

McHale, we're investing in your future. By early June, the GoFundMe had crossed $200,000. Then Burger King stepped in. On June 3rd, staff from the Burger King Foundation surprised McKell at work with a $10,000 scholarship. And in a move that showed the company understood exactly what had made this moment special, they also awarded a $10,000 scholarship to Daisy Chavez, Maria Mendoza's daughter, in recognition of her mother's kindness. The ripple had traveled from one young man's quiet decision

to a stranger's instinct to accord it to an act of generosity that circled right back around to the person who started at all. Here's the part of the story that mattered most. McKell Baker was not planning to go to college. He'd be considering a gap year because he simply couldn't afford tuition. He was going to work, save what he could, and try again later.

When he learned what had happened, the video, the donations, the scholarship, he said through tears, I never thought this would happen to me. I'm very thankful. He has now applied to study automotive technology at a technical college this fall.

He wants to become a mechanic, and until class to start, he plans to keep working at Burger King, not because he has to, but because he loves it. I just love working, and told a reporter, the people I work around make the job fun.

That is the young man the internet found on Wednesday night in May. Not someone performing for the camera, not someone chasing a viral moment, just an 18-year-old who saw his teammates struggling and could not bring himself to walk away. The world noticed, and for once the world did something about it. McKell Baker did not ask for any of this. He did not know he was being filmed. He did not know millions of people would seem stuffing onion rings into a box while wearing his graduation. medals. He was just doing what felt right. And that is exactly why it mattered. Because in a world

that often rewards noise, McKell Baker reminded everyone what a quiet dedication looks like. Not a speech, not a post, just a young man in a paper hat and a set of medals showing up when nobody asked him to. This is the kind of person the world roots for. And this time the world made sure he'd knew it. Hashtag, M-Y-K-A-L-E-B-A-K-E-B-A-K-E-R. Hashtag Mikel Baker, hashtag Burger King Grad,

all from Professor Cal-C-C-A-L-C-U-E. What a cool story. That is awesome. Would you find that? Army member, Jenny Manguno. Of course, Jenny Magnuno, sent us another one. So I think it's a heartwarming, awesome story. But it is what an 18-year-old can teach us about pride, purpose, and work.

And the point is, just like driving over the viaduct and hoping somebody would do something about that, instead, this 18-year-old kid saw a need and filled it. He saw it knead at a Burger King, saw his teammates struggling, and on his graduation night that was supposed to be special for him, he decided to go to work. And he put himself aside to help those that he saw in need in a job. But that translates to what an army, normal folks is supposed to be doing,

which is recognizing need and not waiting for someone else to do something about that, fill in the gap. And in doing so, you inspire others to do the same. And I think that's the moral to this whole story. One thing that you're good about citing Bill is, you know, in his case, his story got told. In your case, your story got told. Most people's stories will never get told, and that should not discourage you from still acting the same way just because it doesn't go viral on TikTok. Yeah, I mean, the truth is, there's a thousand people that are willing to jump in that don't go viral and go to $250,000 scholarship.

But McHale didn't do it for that. It just happened. There's lots of people engaging with kids all over this country who don't get a movie bait about them. I don't know why the Lord decided my story is going to get told, but the only difference in me and hundreds of thousands of other people is that my story did get told. The question is then, what do you do with that notoriety? And Army Normal, folks, is part of the answer to that for me.

And for Mikhail, part of the answer to that is he's. going to keep working with his friends at Burger King and he's going to become a mechanic and build his life and good for him great story one of the things you kind of talk about too with like with the inner city is being uncommon being one of these people who show up consistently and not once and i thought about that related to this too it's uncommon for an employee off the clock to come help i'm sure you felt this too like i get frustrated like if you're at somewhere like the post office and there's a line of this happens at oxford there's like a line of 30 people and there's one person up there.

And then the supervisor comes by. It doesn't help. Yeah, the supervisor rolls by, looks around and they leave. Like, do you see all these people stand on? What are you doing here? They're all on their lunch break. I'm like, I don't care if you're on their lunch break. You've got to go serve people.

That's it. To be a part of the Army of normal folks, when you see need, fill it. And it doesn't matter if you're on the clock or not on the clock. It's just the right thing to do. A lot of adults can learn it from this 18-year-old. Well, and this 18-year-old kid named McHale, who works by an account at Burger King that most would cruise by

when getting their sandwich and not even notice. It's an inspirational example of how we need to be carrying ourselves and how we need to fill needs. I love it. Jenny, as always, thank you for the story. Everybody, that is Shop Talk number 94.

This 18-year-old can teach us a lot about pride, purpose, and work and filling needs. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate it and review it. subscribe to the podcast, join the army at normalfolks. Us. Actually, if you're listening to this when the episode comes out, the launch, kickoff events for our service club, Atlanta, and Ozaki will still be happening that Sunday, ANFatlanta.org and ANFozaki.org.

No, it's not too late to join the other service clubs either. No, you can join them any time. Yeah, so join a service. But even if you can go to the kickoff meeting, that's pretty fun. That's true. And give some money, because one of these clubs is going to get a $25,000 grant from stand together to kick off their giving circles. Yeah, and to candidly help kick off the efforts that they're going to have to make

some difference in their community, $25,000 to real money. One of the point I like making is like your $10 a month gift to the giving circle can help unlock a $25,000 gift for your community. Yeah, I mean, it's pretty cool leverage. Yeah. So come on, get off your butts and get with it. that's it. Shop talk number 94 is closing.

And until next time, do what you can. And eat a whopper. Yeah, eat a whopper. And honor McCown. We'll see you next week. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series.

Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the under-explored pockets of F-1, including the astrology of the current grid, the story of the sports most consequential driver's strike, and plenty of other mishaps, scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent gumster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no grip on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023. But what if we didn't get the whole story? Evidence has been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, of the case collapsed? What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe?

Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall. In 2018, the FBI took down a ring of spies working for China's Ministry of State Security, one of the most mysterious intelligence agencies in the world. The Sixth Bureau podcast is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.