![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/files\/2023\/03\/Liz.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIf you\u2019ve been to GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, specifically Hugs & Mugs, chances are you\u2019ve met our intern, Liz. While we all know her great smile and infectious laugh, but how much do we really know her? We spoke to Liz and her mom, Beth, to talk about Liz\u2019s experience at GiGi\u2019s, interning at Hugs & Mugs, and her career experience working at Chic Fil A!
Liz has been coming to GiGi\u2019s since 2012, when she aged out of Hoffman Estates High School. She immediately enrolled in our Career Development Programs and has been an intern at Hugs & Mugs ever since. Liz also attends our social programs like Fantastic Friends when she isn\u2019t playing a variety of sports with Special Olympics or running around trying to maintain her busy social life. Liz also volunteers at some of GiGi\u2019s events, like the National Conference and the National Gala!
Liz started her position at Chic Fil A in August 2021. She is the hostess, which means she is responsible for welcoming patrons into the restaurant. She is also responsible for cleaning all the tables and chairs\/benches, windowsills, and the sinks in the back kitchen. She also cleans the food trays and gathers them, along with the table markers, and returns them to the front counter. She also sweeps the dining area. One of Liz\u2019s favorite parts of her job is helping customers refill their drinks. According to Liz\u2019s mom, she also gives orders to her Dad (who also works at Chic Fil A) when the trash needs to be taken out. We love a great father\/daughter duo! Liz says the skills she learned at GiGi\u2019s, specifically Hugs & Mugs, has helped prepare her for employment in the community by teaching her valuable skills.
We asked Liz\u2019s mom, Beth, if she had any barriers to getting Liz employed in the community. \u201cYes… We had two very bad situations with other fast-food places, and one had already hired her… they backed out and didn\u2019t even notify us…\u201d We are so proud of Liz and her family for not letting the negative actions of others stop them for fighting for acceptance in the community. Liz\u2019s story is not rare in the Down syndrome community, which is why we cannot stop the fight for acceptance for all! Liz is one of our hardest workers, always willing to complete whatever task is asked of her, and always does so with a smile and a giggle. So next time you\u2019re in Hugs & Mugs or get a craving for some Chic Fil A, stop by and say \u2018Hi!\u2019 to Liz!
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If you\u2019ve been to GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, specifically Hugs & Mugs, chances are you\u2019ve met our intern, Liz. While we all know her great smile and infectious laugh, but how much do we really know her? We spoke to Liz and her mom, Beth, to talk about Liz\u2019s experience at GiGi\u2019s, interning at Hugs & Mugs,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/hoffmanestates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}