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Mark Sullivan is a retired communications professional who lives in Hallowell. From 1997 to 2009, he served as communications director and senior policy advisor to former U.S. Rep. Tom Allen.
Like Vice President Harris, I worked at a McDonald’s restaurant while studying for my B.A. degree. I don’t know how long Kamala spent under the Golden Arches or what tasks she performed. For me, it was nearly three years. And during my tenure, I had a turn at pretty much everything, including flipping burgers and serving customers at the counter.
This was back in the ’70s, when the restaurants didn’t serve breakfast and didn’t open until 11 a.m. Because of my course load, Monday through Friday, I worked the evening shift from 5 p.m. until after midnight closing. On weekends, I worked afternoons and evenings. I generally logged 60-plus hours a week- at minimum wage, back then $1.60/hour.
I earned enough to cover tuition, textbooks and other fees at Old Dominion University, my alma mater and cover gas and maintenance on the VW “bug” that got me from job to school to my parents’ apartment where I lived throughout my undergraduate years. I maintained a full course load, graduated cum laude in a class of more than 2,000 and won a fellowship that paid for my postgraduate studies.
The summer before my senior year, I scored an internship with the Southeastern Virginia Planning District Commission, which led to a part-time job that I held while working toward a master’s degree.
Like all trainees at my McDonald’s, my first workstation was the fryers. Back then both French fries and hot apple pies were deep-fried. The boiling oil popped and splashed; the smoke could be blinding. It was scary, especially at the beginning.
The recent footage of former President Donald Trump, playing McDonald’s fry cook, made me rather hot under the collar.
Trump can play the buffoon all he wants; it has been the essence of his campaign. But in mocking VP Harris for working at McDonald’s, he also belittles, by association, people like me who weren’t born with the proverbial silver spoon he possessed.
Legions of us “baby boomers” did work our way through school. That includes millions of veterans who served our nation with honor and deservedly benefitted from the GI Bill. Others, like me, were fortunate to have affordable options. In my case, the public university I attended.
While not the Ivy League or other prestigious, but expensive options, public schools gave us a shot at higher education that wasn’t available to our parents. Back then, my Old Dominion University tuition was $235 each semester— less than what I spent on textbooks.
U.S. News recently reported that the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2024-2025 school year is $43,505 at private colleges, $24,513 for out-of-state students at public universities and $11,011 for in-state residents at those public schools. A student aspiring to attend one of the famed “Ivies” faces an average annual tuition of nearly $65,000.
Right here in Maine, tuition at Colby, Bates and Bowdoin Colleges top $60,000 a year. At the University of Maine, 2024 tuition for out-of-state students is $35,346 and $12,606 for Maine residents, And what about other expenses like textbooks, housing, etc.?
Granted, a sheepskin isn’t a magic ticket to a successful, fulfilling and lucrative career. Nor are the stories about how Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and other crafty entrepreneurs started Fortune 500 businesses with a few friends working in a garage in Albuquerque, Palo Alto or some other novel locale.
Our next president needs, not just “concepts of a plan,” but concrete policies that will offer pathways to prosperity for all who are willing to work for a fulfilling career that paves the way. Vice President Harris has laid out such a policy agenda.
We must do better than the McJobs that helped her, me and millions like us to realize our aspirations. If we truly want to Keep America Great, we need serious leaders, like Kamala Harris, who care less about themselves and more about Americans.
