Share Your Spark: People Who Belong
We want everyone to feel seen, supported and connected. And the best way to do that is by sharing how you belong.
Each of us has a beautifully unique story. It’s the tale of how you’ve grown. And it shows where you come from, who you’ve connected with, where you’re going. Sharing those stories is one way we celebrate you. And we’re always down for a celebration!
Check out these inspiring stories of Walmart and Sam’s Club associates bringing their whole, authentic selves to work as we embrace what makes us special.
Where you come from
Grace Camacho’s story begins in Puerto Rico where she joined Walmart as a part-time associate. She thought it would be a temporary job. But after earning her bachelor’s degree in management and marketing, she saw Walmart as the ideal place to launch a rewarding career.
With more Walmart stores — and therefore more opportunities — in the continental U.S., Grace set her sights on Texas. She got a transfer to Store 5312 in Fort Worth, where Spanish-speaking associates were in high demand. Grace explains, “I moved to Texas with a backpack, $300 my mom gave me and a dream.” Today, Grace is a proud store manager in Forney, Texas.
For Amagasga Good, it was returning to his heritage that helped him grow in new ways. He was born into a family of migrants from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and he considers himself Tsalagi-Amayetli (Cherokee-American). As an adult, he started studying the Cherokee language, learned to play the Native American flute, and was given his Native name by an elder.
Learning Cherokee has helped him feel connected to his heritage — and it even earned him a spot on the Celebration stage at 2024 Associates Week, where he performed with other Walmart Associate Talent Search winners.
For Alexa O’Leary, coming from 32 years of serving in the military had her seeking a workplace that reflected her community and service-oriented values she held dear. When she was looking for a civilian job, Alexa asked herself: “Where am I going to get to work with some amazing people on a day-to-day basis, and where can I make an impact? I think a lot of that came with Walmart,” Alexa says. “Taking care of your associates, your team, and even taking care of your leadership: We have values that are very, very similar, and that’s very important in my life.”
Who you’ve connected with
Our personal stories grow richer when we connect with people who make us better. That’s the case for Carvon Smith and Anthony Agnew. When the two met, it was admiration at first sight. Over the years, they’ve supported each other and helped each other grow in both their Walmart careers and their personal lives.
Connecting with Walmart associate Barbie Godan is just what one couple needed to grow their family. Barbie reached out to an agency about being a surrogate after having her fourth child. “I was open to whoever wanted to grow a family because family comes in all shapes and sizes,” she says. Soon, Barbie met with Adam and Dan, and they hit it off right away.
Barbie carried the couple’s twins and gave birth to two healthy babies. “We went from being strangers to family. It’s a great partnership that was built because we all wanted to accomplish this thing in our lives. I wanted to help somebody, and they wanted babies, so it worked out well.”
Latonya McMorris’s connection to her team has created a new extended family. “People think it’s crazy when I tell them I absolutely love my job — 22 years in! Walmart has become a family for me and the people in it have become my kinfolks,” she shares. “I talk about things and try to instill in them that they can be whatever it is they want to be.”
Where you’re going
Sometimes our favorite part of associate stories is what’s next! For Liz Cardenas, what’s next is growing her career in facilities maintenance.
In 2025, Liz graduated from Walmart’s Associate-to-Technician program. She’s excited to dive into what some folks consider a male-dominated field. “When I first started with Walmart, I was told that there’s no glass ceiling,” Liz says. “It’s true! The sky is the limit. You can become anything within Walmart, and they support you. They give you the resources you need.”
Jalyssa Zaragoza’s future is brighter than ever. She joined Sam’s Club in 2023 through Unlock Potential, a 10-week program that provides at-risk youth with career training. While her fellow associates shared that Jalyssa was quiet in her first days on the job, as time went on, Jalyssa’s confidence and sense of belonging blossomed.
“She’s really picked up on why we’re here,” says her club manager, Emilio Duarte. “It’s not just a job. It’s to serve our community, to serve our members and most importantly to serve our associates.”
Making headlines
Sometimes our stories are just so big they end up on national news platforms! Did you hear about Dylan Beard, a hurdling Olympian hopeful who worked in the deli of Store 5254 in Wake Forest, North Carolina?
Or how about the associate in West Virginia who jumped into action when her fellow associate had a heart attack? And check out this headline: Woman goes into labor at Galveston Walmart.
We love a feel-good story like this one, about an Arkansas couple who welcomed twins thanks to our fertility benefits.
And we’re inspired to read about Jacoby Brown, who’s legally blind and works as an overnight stocker.
When each of us feels valued for who we are, we can take those unique gifts and share them at work. Who you are, where you came from and who you connect with are all part of your story. And we want to see where it takes you.
