When Mary-Kaitlyn Sellers started as a sample room assistant at STI, a family-owned textile company founded in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, she was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed the work. “I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I do,” she said. “I love working here.”

Mary-Kaitlyn heard about the position from Sandra Jenkins, who works in HR and recruits for the company. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as far as college,” she said. “So I jumped at the opportunity to start working here.”

She started in a temporary position and quickly transitioned to working full-time in the sample room.  After nearly 5 years, Mary-Kaitlyn now works as Outreach Coordinator for their Revolution Performance Fabrics line. As Outreach Coordinator, she assists with setting up all new accounts for public consumers, designers, and upholsterers. With her firsthand knowledge of how the samples look and feel, Mary-Kaitlyn has exceled in helping customers with questions about the fabric and color matching to help fit their project needs.

Mary-Kaitlyn also helps her customers get listed on the store locator portion of STI’s website. This gives her customers first hand access to the public searching for interior designers, upholstery shop, furniture and fabric stores in their area.

Born and raised in Cleveland County, Mary-Kaitlyn enjoys the balance afforded to her by living in Kings Mountain. “It’s small-town comfort with big city amenities,” she said. “The location – in the country, but very close to the city – has always been the biggest benefit for me. The cost of living is also very reasonable.”

On the weekends, Mary-Kaitlyn likes to go hiking with friends at Crowders Mountain and Kings Mountain Gateway Trail or head to Moss Lake Park for fishing and boating.