On my first day at work, Jennifer, the receptionist, welcomed me. She saw me, stood up just for me, smiled, and I introduced myself.

I am the poor servant of God who is here to start work with you today.

My first morning

Jennifer was the only receptionist in a company with 500 people besides me. Still, she left her desk, bought me a coffee, and called someone from my team to come and collect the poor new employee who was lost in the universe.

She sat and talked with me to ease the worry and tension that were obvious on my face. Where are you from? Welcome. Do you have children yet? Simple questions like that.

Three minutes every morning

Over time, Jennifer and I became friends. I could not understand why I was the one she liked chatting with every morning. Maybe some Pharaonic or divine secret attracted her to a very ordinary person like me.

Whenever she saw me in the morning, she stood up just for me. She asked about me and my wife, then spent three minutes talking about anything. The weather is lovely today, so go for a walk in the sun. Take this chocolate as a gift. Your coffee is on me today. What did you do at the weekend?

One day, I told Jennifer that we were expecting a new baby. She was really happy and asked about the due date. When I returned to the office after the birth, she was the only person in the whole company who had brought a gift for the baby. Even my close friends in the office acted like they were from some backstreet in Banha and knew nothing about it.

Jennifer asked about my family every day. She almost certainly knew my son's name, his age, and which nursery he went to.

It was not just me

Later, I was telling a colleague about everything Jennifer had done for me. The surprise was that she had done exactly the same for him.

It turned out Jennifer remembered all our names. We had all drunk coffee on her. We had all received gifts when we had new babies. We were all her friends. She stood up for all of us, and we all enjoyed those short morning chats with her real, natural smile.

Since then, I have hoped that one day I can do my own work with the same care, professionalism and love that Jennifer brings to hers.

No matter how small or limited your role may seem, you can make it big, meaningful and powerful.