Bakery Manager Dasha Clark, #1444, DeLand, Florida, loves to customize bakery items to meet the unique preferences of her customers.

At 21 years old with $500 in her bank account, Dasha, originally from the Czech Republic, boldly moved from Austria to the United States by herself. Once here, she worked numerous jobs for up to 80 hours per week to get by. One day, a friend told her she should apply at Publix.

“I started at Publix in 2013, and it was the best decision I ever made,” beamed Dasha. “I wake up and love to go to work.”

Dasha cherishes the way Publix values diversity. She, in turn, values the diversity of those shopping in her store.

“I love when customers come in and ask for help finding items similar to what they eat in their home countries,” said Dasha. “I can relate to them. I am an immigrant, and I know that even though there are challenges immigrants face, such as adjusting to new lifestyles, languages and cultural barriers, Publix values me the same way they value everybody else.”

Dasha speaks Czech, German and English fluently. She is also able to carry on conversations in Russian, Polish and multiple Yugoslavian languages.

“It helps to be multilingual at work,” said Dasha. “One of my favorite things to do is write ‘Happy Birthday’ on a cake in a customer’s native tongue. If I can’t do it, we look around the store for any associate who might be able to help.”

In the future, Dasha hopes to become a bakery retail improvement specialist.

Publix is a family — a big, 255,000-person one — with backgrounds from across the country and around the world. This article is part of a series featuring associates from a variety of backgrounds, age groups and cultures, and we love sharing their successes. We hope our articles help you learn a little more about your fellow associates who make up our Publix family.