This week’s Who’s Who is Tagen Gaul. If you have ever been to Starbucks in between classes you have probably met Tagen. She has worked at Starbucks for eight years now. She grew up in Niles, Michigan, where she worked for her parents’ family business until they had to sell it. This loss prompted her to come work at Starbucks, where her sarcastic sense of humor makes everyone who knows her laugh. This humor also comes in handy when Tagen is raising her three children.
Tagen has one daughter Olivia who is 15, and two sons, Hunter (11) and Jaelen (9). When I asked Tagen about her kids, she first sheepishly responded, “They’re all right I guess. I did give birth to them.” Then on a more serious note, she said, “They are very good kids. They do well in school and in sports. They are the best kids you could ever ask for. I’m so happy I have them. They have changed my life for the better.”
When I asked her what she likes to do when she isn’t working, she jokingly describes her days off as “boring”: “I clean my house and take care of my kids. I spend time running them around.” Tagen describes herself as just an everyday sort of gal, working hard at home and at work.
I tried to dig a little deeper into Tagen’s life outside of work. She joked with me first, saying, “I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up,” but she then spoke more earnestly. “I originally was going to go to bakery school,” said Tagen. She likes to make cakes for family’s and friends’ birthdays and special occasions, and she may one day want to open her own pastry shop.
Despite having an interest in attending pastry school, Tagen had to put those aspirations aside when her youngest son Jaelen was diagnosed with polyarticular arthritis last year. She doesn’t seem bothered by having to set aside her own dreams to take care of Jaelen. In fact, she doesn’t even think twice about it. She just tells me about how well her son is dealing with his illness: “He is a champ!”
I asked her what she thinks about Notre Dame students, and she described the students she has met working at Starbucks as “nice and good everyday people.” Even so, she has the sense that some students “are unconscious of the way they treat other people. They seem to take things for granted.” Tagen’s advice to Notre Dame students is to know that “there is more to this world than this campus.” She asked us to “be more conscious of the people at this university who make it work. This is where we (campus staff) spend our entire day.” She told me about how much more enjoyable work is when students are friendly.
I have found my experience at Notre Dame to be more enjoyable with people like Tagen around: Her easy-going attitude makes people feel at home. The next time you stop at Starbucks, I hope you get the opportunity to come into contact with this fun-loving woman.
Kelly Mason would be happy to meet at Starbucks with anyone who asks. She can be contacted at kmason2@nd.edu.
