Denise Charlotte Rodriguez of Johnstown is given high marks when it comes to being a mother.

“I give her 10 stars,” said her daughter, Olympia Alston of Johnstown. “She’s great.”

A 15-year employee of McDonald’s Corp., Rodriguez gets high marks from her boss as well.

“She’s a very hard worker,” said Michael Engleka, manager at the Kernville McDonald’s, where Rodriguez has been employed for nearly 11 years. “I hope she sets an example for some of the other employees.

“She’s fast, friendly and has a great attitude.”

Rodriguez previously was employed at The Galleria McDonald’s and traveled there by bus.

Her current location is only two blocks from her home, allowing her to walk to her job as shift supervisor.

“I like it 100 percent better,” the 52-year-old said.

Engleka is one of the main reasons Rodriguez enjoys her job.

“He is an excellent manager,” she said. “Mike doesn’t run the place like a concentration camp. He likes to have a lot of fun – just like we do. He is just a nice person.”

Rodriguez said her customers are another reason she enjoys coming to work.

“ I know a good many of them by name,” she said.

She has served some so long that often she has an order ready even before the customer gets to the counter.

“All my customers are my favorites,” she said. “If it wasn’t for my customers, I wouldn’t have a job.”

Engleka said many customers tell him to hang on to the popular server.

“I tell them not to worry,” he said. “I will not let her go. 

“She’s chained behind the counter.”

Of course, not all of the people Rodriguez meets are good customers.

“One time when I was working drive-through, someone tried to rob me,” she recalled. “I slammed the window on his arm.

“The police got there just in time and they caught him.”

Rodriguez said she probably would not do that again.

“But you know, I feel like I work there and I enjoy my

job. And I am not going to let someone come to my job and take from my employers.”

Taking care of others is something to which Rodriguez is accustomed.

Her father passed away when she was 13, and her mother got sick shortly after that. She took on many of the responsibilities for the family, including the care of her younger brother.

“We had to grow up faster than other kids,” she said.

Rodriguez has been married to her husband, Stanley, for 38 years. They met when she was just 15.

“I’ve been with him ever since,” she said. “He’s a good person.”

The couple have four children and 15 grandchildren.

Alston said her mother taught the family the value of hard work.

“If we did not have our beds made by the time the (school) bus came, we finished our room. If we didn’t have a ride, we walked,” she said.

She said her mother keeps working even after a long day on her feet at the restaurant.

“She goes to work for eight hours, then she doesn’t even take her uniform off and she is cleaning up,” Alston said. “Then she goes from cleaning to cooking. Then she helps the grandkids with homework.”

Rodriguez often is frustrated by a system that seems to reward those who do not choose to work.

At one point, when ends just did not seem to meet, she applied for food stamps only to be told she made $10 too much to get the benefits.

“If you stay home you have everything,” she said, “while people who work have to pay for health benefits and taxes and things.”

Yet Rodriguez believes it is better to earn your own living.

“It’s your best bet to get out and get a job,” she said.

Things were not always easy, but the family always got by.

“Even when we were growing up as kids, we might not have had everything everybody else had but she made sure we had everything we needed,” her daughter said.

The family still eats together on Sundays, and Alston and her mother enjoy singing karaoke together.

“She’s great,” the daughter said. “We act like we’re on ‘American Idol.’

“My mom is the type of person that tries to keep the family together,” Alston continued. “When we have our ups and downs as couples, she tries to be our counselor.”