At North Branford’s McDonald’s Restaurant, the American Dream has come true for General Manager Jessica Castillo.

In 2005, newly arrived from Guatemala, Jessica took a McDonald’s crew job at a highway rest stop in Milford. Fast forward about 10 years to April 13, 2016, when Jessica will be honored among the top one percent of McDonald’s restaurant managers globally, with a prestigious Ray Kroc Award. According to the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts McDonald’s Owner/Operator Association, McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 36,500 locations serving nearly 69 million customers in over 100 countries daily.

Jessica travels to Orlando, Florida next week to join 340 McDonald’s restaurant mangers set to receive the honor, which includes a cash prize and trophy. In addition to days of special events and exciting opportunities, the honorees will be celebrated with a Jennifer Lopez concert.

Jessica’s drive to succeed was fostered by the person who gave her support and encouragement from the start, Area Supervisor Pauline Graziano. Graziano also nominated Jessica for the Ray Kroc Award. Managers earning the Ray Kroc Award are nominated to recognize their hard work, dedication, and commitment to McDonald’s and its customers.

Before she won the Ray Kroc award, Jessica helped the North Branford McDonalds earn a 2015 Outstanding Restaurant for the Boston Region. In June 2015, after being nominated by Graziano, Jessica also won the Trefz Corporation/McDonalds Outstanding Manager Award.

“I know I work so hard, but I never expected to get that!” says Jessica. “And then the Ray Kroc award, which is the top...I’m very proud.”

Jessica followed her mother and her brothers to West Haven as the last of her family to immigrate. From the moment she took her first job in America as a McDonald’s crew member, Jessica also worked on improving her opportunities to advance. She arrived with some basic English speaking skills, practiced what she termed “Spanglish” with her family, and then increased her ability to speak and understand English by “paying attention” to the world around her, including listening to different ways customers would order the same items. She was also keeping a close eye on what it took to be a productive worker and took every chance that came her way to learn more about the business.

Graziano says she quickly noticed something special about Jessica.

“I was a restaurant manager at that time, and I saw a lot of potential in her,” says Graziano. “She had this wonderful thirst for knowledge about the business, and a positive attitude. So I said, ‘Every day, I’m going to teach you something about the business.’ And she picked up everything—and if she didn’t, she’d ask questions. She’s also really self-motivated. You can’t teach that.”

“Everybody has the opportunity,” says Jessica of finding her path to success. “It’s the way you see it or the target you have. I said, ‘I can stay working, and when they give me opportunity, I say, okay, I’ll go!’”

Jessica took advantage of every McDonald’s training program, including heading off to “Hamburger University” and traveling to corporate training for increasingly higher levels of restaurant management. She was made assistant manager of the Branford (Route 1) McDonalds in 2011. In 2013, Jessica became the general manager of North Branford McDonalds, a place she loves.

“It’s like a second home,” says Jessica, who works a varied daily and nightly schedule with the restaurant’s group of 10 managers and a crew of employees.

Among the mangers alone, the North Branford store has a combined 60 years of experience. Employees of all levels tend to stick around, because it’s simply a great place to work, she says. Customers love it, too (when it comes to customers calling in compliments to corporate headquarters, Jessica ranks as one of the country’s top managers receiving positive voice responses). A lot of the regulars know Jessica by name and a lot of employees, including Jessica, know their regulars.

“We know how most of the people who come here a lot like their coffee, or what they want to order,” says Jessica. “We even recognize their voices at the drive-thru.”

Long-time customer Marty Forbes of North Branford says Jessica makes the place more than just another great McDonalds; it’s a hub for the community.

“My wife and I have been coming here since this place was built, and she’s the best manager that’s ever been here so far,” he says. “She makes it a family-oriented place. They’re nice people, and nice people come here.”

Thanks to Graziano and Jessica, Forbes has been able to offer the community a popular warm weather event at the North Branford McDonalds: Friday night car shows. The weekly event returns this year beginning Friday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. and “we already have a sign outside,” says Jessica.

“They work hand-in-hand with me,” says Forbes. “We have disc jockey play oldies and we have cars throughout this whole place. We have the Fire Department right next door and they bring out their trucks; so parents can go over with their kids for that. We have a good time. I love coming here.”

Jessica always encourages her employees to be friendly, positive, and shoot for the stars if they’re interested in advancing their career with McDonald’s.

“If everybody wants to do it, you can do it, but you have to work,” she says. “And you have to have a good, positive attitude. I tell them the way we start in the morning is the same way we finish the end of the day.”

More than 80 percent of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local businesspeople. The North Branford restaurant is owned by Trefz Corporation, a tri-state group.

“Trefz was started by two brothers who had to struggle in the beginning,” says Pauline. “They scraped the money together to buy one restaurant. Over 50 years, they’ve grown the business to 45 restaurants. Through their example, and because they know what it was like to struggle, they’ve given a lot of opportunity to a lot of people.”

Jessica says she’s not only glad to have the opportunity to succeed, but will continue to work to pass along what her own mentor has shared with her.

“Besides being a professional, Paula is a nice, human person too,” says Jessica. “So I tried being like that, too. It’s not only work, it’s trying to be a little bit human, too, and helping other people. The same opportunity she gave me, I try to give to someone else, too.”

The North Branford McDonald’s is located at 280 Branford Road/Route 139 at Route 80.