From the Classroom to the Club: Meet Five Teachers Who Are Now Sam's Club Associates

As classrooms fill back up this school year, we’re sharing the stories of five Sam’s Club associates who have spent time at the front of one. Despite teaching different subjects and serving in different roles across the club, these five educators share one major thing in common: a lesson that never goes out of style. And since back-to-school season is in full swing, we included a few great back-to-school savings along the way. 

Miranda Serrano spent 17 years teaching in El Salvador, working with students from elementary school through high school. She taught reading and writing, and later psychology, in conditions that made the work difficult. Many children had no path to school at all, and resources were often scarce.

"As teachers, we did what we could," she said. "We had to be very creative in how we taught in those conditions. But I believed in the mission so much that I did it," she said. "Education is so important. It's everything."

She came to the United States in June 2019 speaking very little English and became a citizen in September 2025. Today she works as a Merchandising Associate in the clothing department at Club 4846 in Mentor, Ohio. Her English has improved so much that she now frequently translates for members and helps them in both English and Spanish.

Despite the different day-to-day job duties, her instincts from the classroom remain.

"The way I can communicate with people is most similar to my teaching days," she said. "Teaching taught me a lot of patience. It's my responsibility to help customers, no matter what."

She loves her current role, and she says she has "big dreams," hoping to someday move up into management within Sam's Club.

"I want my club to be able to count on me," she said. "I believe we are here to provide for each other. It's always a pleasure to help others, and that's something I do every day."

On Aug. 18, Keisha Johnson, Member Specialist at Sam’s Club 6376 in Dallas, Texas, will celebrate 18 years with the Dallas Independent School District. She has spent the past six years as a third-grade math teacher. “I come from a line full of educators,” she stated, “so I’m keeping the tradition going.”  

A part-time role at Sam’s Club has allowed her to help her son with the extras he needed during his senior year of high school and throughout college. “He doesn’t need my help any longer; he’s now a college graduate, but I love my job at Sam’s Club. I’ve always been able to work with a great group of people here and they have worked with my teaching schedule, so I’m staying.”

“Sometimes my students get to see me while I’m working here and they get so excited! I get excited, too. It’s so much fun,” she said proudly. Her infectiously positive spirit made it difficult to believe that Keisha was diagnosed with stage two multiple myeloma in early 2025. She underwent intense chemotherapy for six months, a bone marrow transplant, and a month-long hospitalization. Thankfully, Keisha went into remission. She credits her faith as her guide during these very challenging circumstances.

 
“Through her treatment journey, Keisha continued to show up with an incredible attitude and unwavering determination. Despite the physical and emotional challenges of radiation treatments and recovery, she remained positive, engaged, and committed to her team. Many associates had no idea what she was facing because she never allowed her circumstances to define her or diminish her spirit,” stated Jacob Fern, Fresh Manager, Club 6376.
 
To remain in remission, Keisha will be on lifelong medication and maintenance treatments, but despite the circumstances, she is looking forward to a new school year and many more to come. “I love life. I love teaching. And I love being here [at Sam’s Club],” she concluded. We are honored that Keisha is choosing Sam’s Club to be a part of her legacy of service.

Amy Rhea spent 12 years working in education before moving to Sam's Club, across a range of levels. Most of what she taught in her career has centered on math and learning theories, which she finds funny in hindsight.

"I despised math in school," she said. "My favorite subjects as a student were always history and social studies. And somehow, I grew up to become a math teacher."

What kept her there was being able to see things click. "Nothing compares to watching a student hit that light bulb moment," she said. "When something they've been stuck on finally clicks and you watch their confidence shift immediately."

After more than a decade in education, Amy wanted a new kind of impact. Jerry Thompson, a manager at Club 8270, encouraged her to consider a management-in-training role at Sam's Club.

"Jerry recruited me over a period of time and helped me understand how closely my experience in education aligned with retail leadership," she said. "Hearing that managers devote much of their time to teaching, coaching, and developing teams resonated with me."

She still teaches, just with a different audience. Her focus is helping associates connect what they learn in training to the work they do on the floor and explaining the reasoning behind it.

"I spend a lot of time teaching the why behind what we do," she said. "That's what builds understanding."

After spending her college years as a special needs nanny, Christina Johnson, Senior Manager, People Partner, Sam’s Club, was inspired to teach special education in San Antonio, Texas, through Teach for America, specializing in small-group reading instruction for students with dyslexia.

“There was nothing more rewarding than watching a student accomplish something they had been working so hard toward,” stated Christina. She went on to say, “My favorite part was seeing students grow in both their skills and their confidence. I also loved building relationships with my students and celebrating their progress, no matter how big or small,” she said.

While she loved so many aspects of her profession, Christina had other aspirations. “I wanted to be in a field that aligned with my passion for helping people build skills, grow, and reach their goals with more career mobility. That led me to human resources and ultimately now to Sam's Club.”

A master’s degree in business, and three and a half years later, Christina has celebrated several milestones including a recent promotion to Sam’s Club Senior People Partner Manager and her first Walmart International Triathlon.

For seven and a half years, Ariana Cole taught pre-K and kindergarten in northwest Arkansas, which wasn't her original career plan. She started college as a pre-nursing student at the University of Arkansas until her freshman roommate talked her into trying education instead. A summer internship and a student-teaching placement later; she knew she had found her fit.

"I loved building meaningful connections with my students and helping lay a strong foundation for their future," she said. "Creating a classroom where students could learn, grow, and make lifelong memories was the best part."

After her son was born, she wanted a different pace. A friend and former teaching colleague who had already made the jump from the classroom to Walmart connected her with a recruiter. She took a leap into an executive assistant role at Sam's Club, supporting the Seasonal, Apparel and Jewelry, and Home and Hardlines teams. She's now been at Sam's Club a little over a year.

On paper, the job looks pretty different from being in a classroom. But in practice, she uses the same instincts every day. Coordinating international travel for associates means tracking documents, flight changes, time zones, and a dozen moving pieces at once, often from hundreds of miles away.

Ask her what skill carried over best and she answers quickly: relationships. "Whether you're teaching 5-year-olds or supporting a leadership team, success starts with understanding people," she said. "Learning to build trust quickly has been one of the most transferable skills from the classroom to the corporate world."

The Common Denominator

Whether at the office or in the club, we are grateful for how our associates use their skills to show up every day at Sam’s Club, and that leads us to one of our last trivia questions.

As teachers and students return to classrooms, we also wanted to share a couple of ways Sam’s Club offers additional value to our members. Through the Member’s Mark™ Made Without Commitment™, we have removed unwanted ingredients from Member’s Mark products without compromising on taste, quality, or value – ideal for after school snacking.^* Also, be sure to explore the Back-to-School edition of the Sam’s Club Instant Savings Book. We highlighted a few fun finds below.

Back to School Instant Savings for Members

Through the Instant Savings Book, members can also benefit from either additional dollars or percentages off several back-to-school items – from pencils to play sets.  We’ve highlighted a few fun finds and necessities but be sure to check out the whole Back to School Instant Savings Book. Some offers expire as soon as August 16, 2026, so take a peek soon!

_{* Excludes Sports Nutrition and OTC products. Products may contain ingredients such as ascorbic acid, citric acid, D-L malic acid, and phosphoric acid.}