McDonald’s Launches Nationwide '1 in 8 Day' Mentorship Series for Crew

McDonald’s introduced a refreshed '1 in 8 Day' program on January 8, accompanied by Arches & Ambition, a four-part YouTube series that pairs current Crew members with alumni who have pursued careers in entrepreneurship, the food industry, fashion and sports. The company highlighted four mentorship pairings staged in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Queens, making the program both a national media effort and a locally grounded set of events.

The video series follows individual mentorships and is available on YouTube, while restaurants nationwide are expected to recognize employees through local events and special offers tied to the day. McDonald’s USA national field president Myra Doria framed the initiative as an effort to connect Crew members with alumni to help them imagine career possibilities beyond the restaurant, and the program follows prior '1 in 8' programming the company ran in 2024.

For employees, the program offers more than corporate recognition. By connecting active crew with former workers who have moved into other industries, the mentorships aim to spotlight transferable skills gained on the job and demonstrate concrete, relatable career trajectories. That can help employees see options for upward mobility, support professional development conversations with managers and strengthen engagement for those weighing long-term work at the company or a move into a different field.

The initiative also serves McDonald’s broader messaging about the scale of its employment footprint and the skills frontline workers develop. For managers and franchise owners, locally run events provide an opportunity to celebrate employees and bolster recruitment and retention messaging. At the same time, the practical impact for workers will depend on how the company and individual restaurants follow up with tangible development pathways, such as training, networking or hiring referrals.

As a public-facing program, Arches & Ambition leans on storytelling and role models to shift perceptions of what a fast-food job can lead to. The series and in-restaurant activities make the company’s alumni success stories accessible to crew members who may otherwise not see such pathways. The videos remain available online for crew and the public, while the company and its restaurants will use local events and offers to amplify the message throughout the day.