There has been many a morning when I have shuffled into Walgreens bleary-eyed to pick up something quickly and get my Mtn. Dew. Almost always Ms. Sonja Fryar-Grant is there to ring up my purchases and wish me luck for the rest of the day. I wish her a good day too, but even that early in the morning, Ms. Sonja already appears like she has already had a good day because of her smile and good naturedness.
Ms. Fryar-Grant is born and raised in Colleton County in the Jones Swamp area. She was educated in the Colleton County School District from Forest Hills Elementary School to graduating from Walterboro High School. While in high school Ms. Sonja played in the band under Bill Young where she played clarinet. While she did not go all the way through the program, she did enjoy her time in the Band of Blue.
After high school Ms. Sonja started nursing school at Beaufort Technical College (n/k/a Technical College of the Lowcountry), and at the time they were doing clinicals at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Construction projects began at the hospital so the clinicals were moved to Hilton Head Hospital. Finding transportation to Hilton Head became an issue, and Ms. Sonja changed paths and went to CNA school. She began her career in the medical field at Oakwood Nursing Home. Ms. Sonja recalls fondly, “I worked under my mom. She taught me everything I knew back then.” After getting certified she worked at Colleton Medical Center for approximately four or five years. It was during this time she began her venture into retail when she also took a job with Rite Aid. Ms. Sonja left South Carolina for a while to go to Connecticut with her son and his father, and she left retail for a time. When she came back Ms. Sonja decided to leave retail and go back to CNA work. However, when she thought further on it, she ultimately decided to stay with retail. Ms. Sonja describes herself as an emotional person and describes CNA work as very hands on and for her, if she worked with someone long enough, she would get attached, and if they passed away it became even more difficult. That is what caused Ms. Sonja to step away from the CNA/Medical field and pursue retail. She says that if a family member needs care she will step in and help, but she is no longer actively pursuing the field.
Ms. Sonja has dabbled in the retail field for some time; about 34 year’s worth of dabbling. She has worked for Eckerd, then went to Rite Aid when Eckerd was bought out, and then to Walgreens where she is currently employed. Her favorite part about retail is the customers. She does not just call them the customers, she calls them “her customers.” She also enjoys the customers who are just passing through. Sometimes they stop to get some of their photos processed, and Ms. Sonja enjoys seeing the looks on their faces when they see some of their vacation photos. She has customers who call on her (sometimes on her cell phone) to help them with pharmacy questions, photo questions, and overall questions about the store. She is happy to help them when they call not only to assist them, but because she usually knows the answers to their questions and does not want to leave her co-workers “in the lurch” so to speak. It is apparent that Ms. Sonja has an exceptional work ethic.
On a personal note, Ms. Sonja has a son and a daughter and seven grandchildren. Like a lot of families today, they do not live a close to her as she would like, but they call each other, use FaceTime, and make the most of their visits together. She is also active in Red Bank United Methodes Church. She assists with the children’s program and notes that the last week of July the church had a Back to School event and gave out school supplies. The church also has Vacation Bible School and she helps with that as well.
When asked what she would do if time and money were no object, Ms. Sonja simply states she would still work. She comments, “I’m going to go on trips, but I still would work. I couldn’t just sit around.”
So, I will still be dragging into Walgreens early on some mornings to get my Mtn. Dew. Ms. Sonja will ring me up and wish me a good day, and it is nice to know because of the remarkable person she is, she means it.
