Love Island USA Season 7 breakout star Olandria Carthen knows firsthand how much early work experiences can shape a person’s confidence and career path.
Now, she’s teaming up with McDonald’s for the brand’s First Job Confessional campaign, which invites people to share stories about their first jobs and the skills they gained from them.
For Carthen, the campaign resonates on a personal level because she understands how those early opportunities can influence who someone becomes.
“My early work experiences does play a huge role in who I am today,” Carthen told us in a recent interview. “I truly feel like in the workplace I’ve always took on more responsibilities than I had to, to kind of prove to the upper management that I am capable of moving up within the company or being trusted with a lot of things within the workspace that you don’t necessarily trust a first comer.”
She added that those early jobs taught her the importance of pushing beyond expectations.
“But I don’t know. Always going above and beyond and just showing either my coworkers or myself that you don’t have to stop just here,” she said. “You can go above and beyond and prove to yourself and show yourself that you’re capable of doing way more than people would expect you to do.”
Early work experiences and learning to speak up
Carthen said her early jobs also helped her develop communication skills that still benefit her today — including during her time on reality TV.
“I would say, I guess with situations that kind of… I guess hot situations that you don’t really know how to… Just say if you have an interaction with a customer, you don’t really know how to do that,” she said. “I feel like situations like that truly taught me how to communicate effectively in moments like that.”
Those lessons, she explained, continue to help her navigate the spotlight.
“And I really felt like it gave me the confidence to navigate spaces like that even in this career,” Carthen said. “For me to speak confidently or outwardly or whatever. I really feel like those early on experiences shaped me into that person.”
Navigating fame and protecting her privacy
Carthen’s rise in pop culture has happened quickly, but she said becoming a public figure has also taught her when to hold back.
“The main thing I learned about being a public figure is like sometimes things are better left unsaid,” she said. “I’m very quiet when it comes to the media. I post when I have to. I never overshare or anything like that because I truly feel like something that I decided to give up or had to forcibly give up is my privacy because a lot of my life is spotlighted.”
She added that she looks to Beyoncé as an example of how to move in the public eye.
“But I truly learn from the queen, Beyonce. Sometimes the best response is no response,” Carthen said. “And I think that will take you very far in today’s culture, in today’s atmosphere.”
Being the first in her family to navigate certain spaces
Carthen is also a first-generation college graduate, an experience she said shaped how she approaches life and major decisions.
“Well, being the first in my family to graduate or go off to college truly shaped me into becoming way more confident and just trusting myself a lot more,” she said.
Stepping into unfamiliar spaces meant learning to rely on her own instincts.
“Imagine you going and stepping into a world that you know nothing about and no one around you that raised you or was around you as a kid can ever navigate your next step or tell you what’s next or anything like that,” Carthen said. “You have to kind of just figure that out on your own.”
She said that experience continues to influence her choices today.
“I actually felt like I am doing that now. I’m the first quote, unquote famous person in my family,” she said. “So even now, no one can tell me what the next step should be or whatever.”
Because of that, Carthen said she approaches opportunities thoughtfully.
“So it’s like I take a lot of things with a grain of salt and I just try to align them with who I am as a person, my morals, my values, and just pray that it leads me to something bigger,” she said. “And honestly, it’s been working out for me.”
She added that every career decision requires careful consideration.
“I literally take a gamble at every single partnership I decide to do or anything I decide to participate in or any event that I decide to attend,” Carthen said. “Anytime you see me partnering with companies or doing anything, you just know that it’s something that truly represents who I am as a person and my morals and my values.”
Staying grounded in her Alabama roots
Despite traveling and appearing at events across the country, Carthen said her upbringing in Alabama continues to shape how she approaches life and success.
“I truly feel like being from a small town in Alabama keeps me very grounded and very personable,” she said. “I’m not going to say I just came from extremely humble beginnings, but it’s Alabama. It’s not much around. You have to create your own fun for a lot of things.”
She believes that authenticity resonates with people.
“So I really feel like a lot of people gravitate towards me because I’m extremely authentic,” Carthen said. “I don’t go around, act like something that I’m not. I’m always meeting people where they are.”
Her childhood experiences also helped her stay grounded even as her platform grows.
“I wouldn’t let money or fame change who I am at my core,” she said.
Growing up outside a major city also gave her a different perspective on life.
“I truly feel like my Alabama roots played a huge part in that because I feel like if I was a city girl, I grew up in a city, I feel like city kids, they grew up a lot more quicker than country kids,” Carthen said. “So I grew up making mud pies. I grew up just out in the field, getting scars on my legs. I had a true childhood.”
She said those experiences help her connect with people from different backgrounds.
“And I truly feel like that has made me be able to connect with so many people from around the world and stay grounded in that.”
Advice for those starting their first jobs and what’s next
As part of the First Job Confessional campaign, Carthen is encouraging people to reflect on the lessons they learned from their earliest jobs.
“I would say take in as many skillsets as you possibly can and take those skill sets with you to the next job,” she said.
Even roles that might seem temporary can teach valuable lessons.
“But just because you start off in fast food or babysitting or whatever, retail, you will always need those skillsets to get you far,” Carthen said.
She said those early experiences helped her develop important communication skills.
“I truly feel like the skillsets that I learned in my first few jobs are some skillsets that I use today,” she said. “That’s how I know how to effectively communicate, whether that’s with my supporters or my coworkers or whoever.”
Ultimately, Carthen hopes people learn to appreciate where they begin.
“Only because I truly feel like since I’m a very personable person and a lot of people see themselves within me, I truly feel like embracing where you start is so important,” she said.
“I know it’s the joke with McDonald’s. ‘Oh, you work at McDonald’s…it’s a joke, right? No, it’s not,” Carthen added. “It’s like…embrace where you start. It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Looking ahead, Carthen said she’s excited about expanding into new creative spaces.
“I would say my possible acting career, just stepping into that,” she said. “I have an acting coach and started to study some scripts, so I’m excited about what that could look like.”
She’s also exploring modeling opportunities.
“And a modeling career as well,” Carthen said. “I’m trying to move into that space a lot more, too. Amazing. I’ve been excited about those two for sure.”
After its New York City pop-up, the First Job Confessional will be in Austin this week before being in Pittsburgh in April and Chicago in July.