Taco Bell Blog

At Taco Bell, we empower our teams to be fearless, embrace different and drive change. We believe that each one of us has a story to tell. 

This year’s nationwide Black History Month’s focus is Black Resistance – meaning how the Black community has resisted historic and ongoing oppression, which you can learn more about on blackhistorymonth.gov.

To honor and celebrate this year’s focus and the Black community, we will continue to amplify their voices. We will share their stories every week in the month of February in hopes that they not only educate but inspire you to drive positive impact within your community.

But first, some Black History background... Black History Month started off as a one-week celebration founded by Carter G Woodson in February 1926. 50 years later the week was transformed into a month-long celebration of Black American history. February is the month we dedicate to celebrate and share stories about our Black team members and communities who triumphed despite ongoing challenges.

Throughout the year, we will continue sharing the incredible stories of our Taco Bell teams; the sharing and celebration doesn’t stop here.

Mardoche C., Franchise Team Member At Desert De Oro Foods, Inc. & Live Más Scholar

As long as he could remember, Mardoche had a great desire to make a difference in people’s lives. This dream, along with several significant moments throughout his life, propelled him to where he is now. Throughout his life, Mardoche grew up loving cars and was fascinated by how the automotive industry has improved throughout the years and wanted to be a part of that change. He is currently studying Mechanical Engineering with the dream of becoming a mechanic and building affordable cars for those in low-income communities.

Mardoche knew that in order to obtain his dreams, he would need higher education. “Education helps pursue dreams that seemed impossible before,” he said. Thanks to the help from the Live Más Scholarship, he can pursue these dreams and plans on doing internships to build a connection with those with a similar mindset.

Despite his championing of higher education, there was a time in Mardoche’s life that he almost gave up his education and aspirations. Before receiving the Live Más Scholarship from the Taco Bell Foundation, Mardoche was forced to take a year off school to work and save money, which consequently had a negative impact on his outlook of the world. “It really drained me that I couldn’t properly continue my education due to money and it crushed my spirit,” he said.

From this hardship, Mardoche explained that failing is not to be taken as a negative experience but to grow from it and to become stronger. Alongside this, Mardoche has come out of it with a greater appreciation for where he is now.

“Continue to lead in every aspect you can even through adversity. You cannot improve if you don’t fail. Failure is only a lesson for what needs to be improved,” he said.

He has used his experiences and learnings and is applying them to his life now, both in school and while working at Taco Bell. He said, “Working at Taco Bell means to be helpful, caring, and respectful. Those traits are what make me feel like I belong.”

Mardoche is inspired by the life lessons he learned, which fuels his passion to keep going, stay motivated and inspire those around him every day.

Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 54,000 restaurants in more than 155 countries and territories, operating the Company’s brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. The Company’s family of brands also includes The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual restaurant concept specializing in made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches and more. Yum! Brands was named to the 2021 Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and was ranked on Newsweek’s list of 2021 America’s Most Responsible Companies. In 2022, Yum! Brands was named to 3BL Media’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens.

More from Yum! Brands