A Boss With Ketchup in His Veins
and Making a Difference on His
By: Rachel Forrester Many people might consider a job in fast food as a launching pad or way for young workers to make some extra cash. For Nicholas Snowberger (BBA 05), however, a career at McDonald’s has been at the top of his list for as long as he can remember, and he wants others to see that the fast food giant has potential to be more than just “America’s best first job.”
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“We recently helped a young lady named Betty Carabajal purchase a new vehicle,” Nic recalled. “She was in desperate need after depending on the charity of friends and family for too long, and the addition of the vehicle has had a lasting effect. We also worked with Diana Corral who had been a manager at one of our locations for a little over six years. With the help of our Dream Program, she opened her own tortilla and chip factory – something that had been in the works for over a decade.” The McDonald’s locations with this program in place have experienced double-digit decreases in turnover for both crew and management. Three of the four Roswell locations, as well as the location in Artesia, perform well above the national average. The newest Roswell location that was built two years ago is experiencing double-digit growth and will soon join the others.
“I have ketchup in my veins!” explained Nic, who started working the Portales McDonald’s drive-through in high school and now owns several locations in Roswell and Artesia. In addition to his Dream Ambassador program, Nic has developed the Snowberger Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit that will provide scholarships to ENMU Nic’s parents, John and Robin Snowberger, own locations in Portales, Tucumcari and Clovis; Nic
and Artesia High School, and that generously supports
purchased the Roswell locations from them in 2016. Like
the Ronald McDonald House charity.
many people who follow a successful family legacy, the
“While attending ENMU I was very involved with the
35-year-old owner is passionate about his work, but he
Kappa Sigma fraternity through which I received
also feels pressure to live up to the name.
multiple Scholarship Leadership Awards,” Nic
“Dad has always been there for advice and counsel
explained. “The scholarship made such a difference for
whenever I ask,” said Nic. “But I also have an innate drive to get out from his shadow and take new ideas and risks that will not only reinforce the powerful impression he is
my college experience, allowing me to spend more time on my studies, and not juggling a full-time job. I’m very passionate about education and personal development
leaving, but take it to another level.”
and love being a part of other people’s success stories.”
His newest initiative began with hiring Toni, a Dream
Nic noted that the Dream Program has paid for itself
Ambassador, as a way to boost morale by helping his employees accomplish a personal goal. Toni meets with each worker one-on-one to learn about his or her biggest dream or ambition. She then researches what it will take to turn that dream into a reality, and helps that employee craft a budget, a savings plan and set up a bank account to achieve that goal. If the employee can save 95 percent of what they need, Nic steps in to cover the last five.
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students, graduating seniors from Roswell, Goddard
Green & Silver | April 2018
many times over, and that the more he focuses on the success of the people around him, the more they are able to accomplish as a team. His brother Chris Snowberger (BBA 07) has been performing well in the family business, and he is the general manager for two locations in Roswell and Artesia. Nic’s wife SooJee (BBA 13) is on the Board of Directors for the Snowberger Children’s Foundation and spends much of her time raising their 3-year-old son Joshua.
