In the beginning: First jobs Chancellor Bruce Shepard, seen here at the UWGB inauguration week activities, began his career as a custodian during the graveyard shift at the University of California-Berkeley (file photo H. Marc Larson). By Monique Balas News-Chronicle His good looks weren't much help when hunky actor Brad Pitt landed his first job. His mission? To lure people to a California restaurant while wearing a chicken suit. His wife, Jennifer Aniston, was a waitress long before she landed her role as Rachel on "Friends." Madonna was once a cashier at a donut shop, and Whoopi Goldberg was a brick layer and funeral home cosmetician before she took the stage as host of the Oscars. Even celebrities have toiled at thankless jobs at some point in their lives. And they aren't alone. We've collected employment memories from some local notables, who had to pay their dues before landing the jobs of their dreams. Here are their stories: UWGB Chancellor Bruce Shepherd started his university career early on - but not how you would think And Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt? By age 7, he had already learned the value of hard work Take another look at the people you read about all the time in the news Neil Anderson, manager of the NEW Zoo and Interim Brown County Parks director Anderson spent his high school junior and senior years working at a supermarket, stocking and bagging groceries. "I enjoyed it, it was at a family supermarket in our hometown (Ishpeming, Mich.), so people were wonderful to work with," he said. "They were able to work around my schedule while I played high school football, which was obviously real important." What really made an impact on Anderson was his time as a high school football coach during his college years - Anderson serves as a defensive coordinator for the varsity team at Westwood High School in Ishpeming. Currently, he balances his time between working at the zoo, serving as interim county parks director and working with the Bayport Pirate Football Team. Anderson has the distinction of being the only zoo director in the country who coaches high school football. "To be able to understand and be able to coach and mentor, especially in a team atmosphere, understanding all the issues of coaching football pretty much mirrored in life, that has helped me to be successful," Anderson said. "When I look at one of my early jobs, certainly what has had a tremendous effect on me has been coaching high school football." Beverly French, President and CEO of Orde Advertising "I grew up on a farm and I knew I didn't want to do that," French said. "I didn't go to college, so the very first thing that I did out of high school was, I got a job at a hotel known as the Beaumont Motor Inn, a brand new hotel that opened in 1965 (now the Days Inn). I took a number of business classes and always knew I was going to work in either the motel business, for the Green Bay Packers or the movie industry." French sent out resumes to businesses that met one of those criteria, and the Beaumont hired her at 17 as a secretary. After a year there, French met a traveling district manager for the Maurices chain, who hired her on as a sportswear manager for its Jacob's store, which was located on Washington Street in downtown Green Bay. French owes her current success to the learning experiences she got in those first two jobs, plus her first two employers at the Beaumont, owner/general manager Carl Witteborg and auditor Vernanda Dermuyser. "I think they taught me everything I know about leadership, problem solving, being kind and helpful to people," French said. Carol Kelso, Brown County Executive County Executive Carol Kelso got used to helping people at the early age of 16, when she worked as a nurse's aide in an Iowa City hospital. "It was just a caregiving job. It seemed like it would be an interesting experience, and it was," Kelso said. "I could work with people and I learned a lot about medicine." Kelso's path to politics was somewhat circuitous - an interest in the health industry led her to continue to work in hospitals during college, but she eventually changed her major to journalism at Iowa State University. She thought writing about health care issues would have more of an impact than working in what she considers a troubled system. Her transition to politics was a natural one because, she said, she learned to ask questions and understand how politics affect people. "I think any time you have job, no matter where it is, it always changes your life in some way, it changes your focus," Kelso said. Tina Quigley, Executive Director Northeastern Wisconsin Arts Council "I worked my first job at Schroeder's Flowers, which was a fantastic opportunity - a lot of people spent their first job flipping burgers," Quigley said. Quigley's parents were both avid gardeners, so she gained an appreciation for plants early on. "I do remember, in high school, junior and senior year, kids would get a new outfit for school...I remember one year, instead of getting a pair of Levi's and a sweater, I got some kind of dracaena plant." She learned lots about customer service and has been able to use her flower arranging skills for friends' weddings. Plus, her promotion to the head school girl position at Schroeder's allowed Quigley to learn about interviewing, hiring and training people. "It definitely carries over into my life now. I have a very special appreciation for plants, gardening - indoor and outdoor gardening. It's definitely one of my favorite hobbies," Quigley said. Jim Schmitt, Mayor of Green Bay Green Bay's mayor definitely appreciates the value of employment - even if it only brings in 25 cents an hour. Schmitt began working for his father's lumber company at 7, stamping literature and cleaning the bathrooms. Schmitt worked at the carnival when it came to his hometown of Two Rivers; in grade school, Schmitt was a young antiques dealer: He went to auctions and resold his purchases. At 16, he also worked as a waiter and began selling and delivering lumber for his father's company. At 18, Schmitt purchased a house for $11,500 and rented it out to people instead of buying a car like his classmates did. "I think I just have an appreciation for jobs," Schmitt said. "I think it's good for self-esteem, definitely good for your family and it's great for the economy. I've always enjoyed working and making money. I believe in that part of the American dream." Bruce Shepherd, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay started his career at the university level, but he really worked his way up. Shepherd was 17 when he began working as a custodian during the graveyard shift at the University of California-Berkeley. Today, Shepherd is an inspiration to students who earn tuition money by working as janitors the same way he did, because he takes time to talk to them and tell the students his personal experiences. "I was a custodian. I waxed floors, emptied wastepaper baskets, swept rooms," Shepherd said. "Cleaning an awful lot of bathrooms is what I remember." But cleaning those bathrooms built valuable character. "I think what I really have learned, what's really helped me even today is whatever the job, you get all sorts of interesting people that it's a pleasure to get to know and have as friends, not just limit yourself based on their jobs ... Everybody has something important to contribute, and whatever they contribute, they are very interesting people." Marilyn Stasiak, development/publicity officer for Neville Corp. Many people may recognize Stasiak as the voice of the Neville Public Museum of Brown County, but she got her start doing filing for the Internal Revenue Service. Stasiak was 17 and got paid $1.25 an hour for her work filing hard copies of tax records in Milwaukee's federal building. "That's what we did all day, it was so boring," Stasiak said. "We were just in the process at that time of computerizing their records - at that time, they were just starting to move to their big central location in Kansas. "I kept hoping I never misfiled anything and got somebody in trouble with Mr. Taxman." She said people should never be timid about doing new things. "You must never be afraid to try anything," Stasiak advised. "If you need a job, get a job, even if it's filing for eight hours a day," Stasiak said. "You have to start somewhere. I don't like people thinking that their very first job has to be the top of the heap or something - that's foolish."