“I worked at a grocery store. I started out as a sack boy and ended up as assistant manager.”

— Daniel May, computer coordinator, Lawrence

“Concrete construction. … It was all residential work.”

— Monte Steffey, pipe fitter, Belton, Mo.

“The same job I have now, as a cook. I love it.”

— Tyler Bradshaw, cook, Lawrence

“The Army Reserves. I enlisted as a 17-year-old and then shipped out after I graduated.”

— Scott Gonzalez, engineering/physics major, Derby