Teen Goes Viral Helping Burger King Coworkers After Graduating. Then Strangers Raised $200K to Send Him to College
Mykale Baker voluntarily, and spontaneously, helped his Burger King coworkers right after attending his high school graduation ceremony last month
Customer Maria Mendoza, who noticed Baker was still wearing his graduation medals, captured the moment, which ended up going viral on TikTok. Then, she set up a college tuition fundraiser that has raised over $200,000 so far
When the teen found out about everything he was shocked — but tells PEOPLE he also feels beyond blessedAn 18-year-old high school graduate in Georgia can now afford to go to college after his act of generosity on graduation night led to a viral TikTok.
'I just feel amazing,' Mykale Baker, who lives in Gwinnett County, tells PEOPLE. 'Blessed, honestly.'
Mykale was one of about 700 students who graduated from Mills Creek High School last month. There, he received his diploma and two medals, one for band and the other for track.
Afterwards, Mykale went to his local Burger King, where he works as a crew member, to pick up food for his family. Although he wasn't scheduled to work that night, he ended up helping out his busy coworkers behind the counter.
'Honestly, I walked in there and I just saw it was so busy,' he recalls. 'I was like, 'I'm not doing anything when I get home, so I might as well just help you out, give out a helping hand.' "
The teen took off his cap and gown, but still wore his graduation medals around his neck, which caught the eye of a customer whose daughter went to the same school and also graduated that day.
Maria Mendoza, 45, and her family — including the graduate, daughter Daizie — stopped in at the Burger King that night because Mendoza had a hankering for a Whopper. When she caught sight of Mykale through the drive-through window, she froze.
"I told my husband, 'Look at him. He is working. Oh my God. He has his medals,' " she says.
Moved by seeing Mykale fresh out of his graduation to prepare the customers' orders, Mendoza took out her cellphone and recorded him for several seconds before stopping when he turned around.
'I dropped the phone," says Mendoza, "and my daughter, who was in the backseat, was like, 'Mom, what are you doing? You're so weird.' "
The next evening, Mendoza shared the clip of Mykale on TikTok and then went to sleep. 'When I woke up, I was just blown away,' she says.
As of Friday, June 6, the TikTok has generated over 4.4 million views.
It was her daughter Jazmine who suggested setting up an online fundraiser on Mykale's behalf. 'So I decided to put a GoFundMe to pay for his college tuition,' she says. (As of Friday, June 6, that GoFundMe has raised over $200,000.)
Mendoza later stopped at the Burger King and asked for Mykale's contact information from his coworkers so she could tell him the news. They declined to give it to her, so she left them her phone number to pass it on to him.
Twenty hours passed and Mendoza had not heard from Mykale. With the donations to the GoFundMe continuing to pour in, Mendoza went back to the Burger King to speak with Mykale's manager.
The manager then called Mykale and told him to come to the restaurant. ''I need you to come right now. This is life changing. Please, I beg you. Come right now,' ' the manager said, according to Mendoza.
Fifteen minutes later, Mykale and his mother entered the Burger King and Mendoza told them what happened. Upon hearing the news, an emotional Mykale hugged his mother and Mendoza.
'Honestly, when she told me about the video, I was surprised,' Mykale says. 'But when she showed me the GoFundMe, I was like, 'Wow. I might go to college now.' '
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Mykale says that he was originally planning to take a gap year or join the Army so he could pay for college. Now with the money raised for him, he has set his sights on Gwinnett Technical College.
And that's not the end of his good fortune: after hearing about Mykale's story, Burger King and the Burger King Foundation awarded Mykale with a $10,000 scholarship. They also offered Mendoza's daughter Daizie with $10,000 scholarship as well.
'This story is about more than a viral moment. It's a testament to hard work, generosity, and the incredible ripple effect of doing the right thing," Burger King tells PEOPLE in a statement.
Mendoza feels proud to be able to help Mykale achieve his dream.
'It brings me so much joy,' she adds. 'I'm smiling and laughing because I'm overjoyed of what's going on with Mykale. Now he's part of my life, and I'm part of his life, and his mom said we're family. I've gained a new family. I just feel so blessed."
Meanwhile, Mykale is still working at the Burger King, but now he's a manager — and his life has changed because of the viral moment.
'I'm very grateful that she actually did this,' he says of Mendoza. 'It opened eyes up for me to see that now that she did this for me, that I return this favor and pay it forward to somebody else.'
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