Imagine leaving home at the age of 12 to attend school in a country over 7,000 miles away and not seeing your parents again until after college graduation. So began Warehouse Manager Isaac Prekoh’s career path. It’s an experience that taught him to be adaptable and an independent thinker, skills that have served him well in the workplace.

Born in Ghana, a country in West Africa about the size of Illinois and Indiana combined, Isaac is gifted in mathematics and science. Through an educational program between Cuba and Ghana focused primarily on medical training, Isaac was awarded a scholarship to attend middle school, high school and college in Cuba. After studying veterinary medicine, Isaac returned to Ghana for an internship with the country’s Department of Agriculture. But he soon realized veterinary medicine was not the path for him.

In exploring his next career opportunity, Isaac took interest in supply chain logistics and was hired by a gold mining company in Ghana as a Logistics Supplier. Already fluent in English and Spanish – and “intermediate” in Portuguese and French – Isaac learned the languages of 10 Ghanan regions as he traveled the coast of West Africa for the next eight years for his job.

With two sisters and an uncle already in the United States, Isaac decided to get his visa and move to America to look for new career opportunities. The first job he got was in Virginia with a major home improvement retailer as a Commercial Sales Specialist. But when the housing crisis began in 2007, the home improvement business was impacted. That’s when Isaac decided he wanted to work in a more stable industry that offered the potential for a fulfilling, long-term career. That’s what led him to the Coca-Cola System.

“I always wanted to work for a company I’d be proud of and one that had a long history,” says Isaac. “Coca-Cola Consolidated has been around for more than 100 years. People love our products.”

One day as he drove past our warehouse in Alexandria, Virginia, which at the time was owned by Coca-Cola Enterprises, he saw a banner on the building promoting a job fair. It was fate. Isaac knew if he could get his foot in the door, he had the drive to advance in the Company. So, he applied for a Forklift Operator position and got it.

Isaac continued on his career journey and was promoted to Dock and Transportation Coordinator for inbound and outbound trucks. From that position, he was promoted to Supply Chain Planner. When Coca-Cola Consolidated bought Coca-Cola Refreshments in 2016, Isaac took a Warehouse Supervisor role in Capitol Heights, Maryland. He was there for three years before getting transferred back to Coke Consolidated’s Alexandria, Virginia warehouse and promoted to Warehouse Manager.

Isaac’s been proud to call the Coca-Cola system his home for the last 18 years and has no plans to leave. When asked what advice the father of four would give a young person trying to figure out their career path, Isaac doesn’t miss a beat.

“I’d tell them to do something they have a passion for. Look where you have interests and build from there to move up. And look at the future of a company. Is it going to be around for a long time? Coca-Cola Consolidated’s been around for more than a century. You can have a future here.”