By Ian Miller
This week, we wanted to introduce you to Jay, one of our fantastic Super Scoopers! Jay began working at The Golden Scoop in September of 2024, after having knee surgery, and enjoys his job very much. Jay has first-hand insight into how The Golden Scoop accommodates the unique needs of each individual employee.
Jay has Sotos Syndrome, a rare, lifelong genetic disorder that affects approximately one in every 14,000 births in the US. The condition is caused by a mutation in the gene that controls how the body grows, leading to excessive growth during childhood. Unfortunately, Sotos Syndrome’s symptoms closely mimic other more well-known disorders, such as cerebral palsy, so it is often misdiagnosed. Symptoms include having a taller stature than one’s peers, mobility issues, facial differences, and challenges in cognitive functioning
and behavior.
“I like that everyone is so kind and accommodating especially when I mistakenly say something because I have autistic traits due to sotos,” Jay wrote in our Sling-message interview. “I would recommend working here to someone with sotos because it is not that
well known and all the shift managers are really understanding with my needs,” he said.
I asked him what his job duties are at The Golden Scoop, and he said, “I scoop ice cream and make coffee drinks as well as the closing tasks every Tuesday.”
Jay also talked about living with Sotos Syndrome: “[T]he most major ways that sotos affects me in daily life is I often struggle with saying the right thing and up until recently I dealt with constant knee dislocation which is what my surgery last year was meant to correct,” he said.
I asked what his plans are for college, and he said, “I am hoping to go to college after graduating next spring and my goal is to go into business school so I can either help the golden scoop business wise or start a company with a similar mission . . . I am
not sure where I want to go to college but I am looking some local schools such as UMKC and some out of schools such as CU Boulder and University of Utah.”
Jay also has the ambition to get his driver’s license! “I am hoping to get . . . my learners permit in August and then start the drivers ed program with abilityKC.” [Among their other services, AbilityKC provides driver’s education classes for teenagers with special needs like Jay.]
We’re thankful to have unique employees like Jay on staff, who bring their stories and personal experiences with them to create the diverse atmosphere that The Golden Scoop has become known for. Like Jay, many unique people have found their place in our stores
over the last four years, enriching our organization with their unique perspectives and providing living examples of our mission each and every day.
Find the Golden Scoop at these locations:
9540 Nall Avenue
Overland Park, Kansas 66207
913-284-804410460 W 103rd Street
Overland Park, Kansas 66214
913-232-9639Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday-Saturday: 8am-7pm
Sunday @103rd: 9am-5pm
Sunday @ 95th: 1pm-5pm
