127 Years of Family Serving Family: Mikayla and Danyel Fujikawa, Offutt Air Force Base

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 127 years of family serving family

Who they are: Mikayla is the Hardlines and PowerZone manager at the Offutt Air Force Base main Exchange, and Danyel is the Military Clothing store manager.

Military connections: Their father, Daniel Fujikawa, was in the Army for eight years, before they were born, and then he was a Department of Defense civil engineer for about 40 years. Their uncle, Vince Afaisen, retired from the Air Force after more than 20 years.

Years with the Exchange

Danyel: 12

Mikayla: 10

What brought them to the Exchange

Danyel: When I first started, it was just a job out of high school, but I ended up liking it and I stayed. It feels good to be able to serve the military.

Mikayla: My sister told me about it; she worked for AAFES for about two-and-a-half years before I started. When I was young, I visited AAFES but didn’t know what it was. I would stay overnight with my aunt and uncle on weekends; every Sunday we went to church and then we would stop by the commissary and the Exchange.

Why they like working at the Exchange

Mikayla: One of my all-time favorite memories working here was when everybody found out that I was coming back to work at the Exchange. A month prior to that I decided to take another job offer, which was not something I was very passionate about. I remember coming back in during a week in February after quitting my job and I walked into the store manager’s office to go visit, I remember her joking with me. I greeted her and spoke to her for a little bit at first and she said, “Are you here to get your job back?” and I answered back ” yes” with a smirk and she was like “Are you serious?” and again I told her “Yes, I am serious.”

From that moment, it felt like I had not even left. AAFES was my first job and it’s my comfort place. I grew up knowing and becoming close to everybody who worked in the store. When I first started working again on Valentine’s Day, nobody knew I was coming back. I can remember all the hugs and confused looks I was getting. Some of my co-workers were like “Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?” and they did not even notice that I was wearing the blue polo … When they noticed, they were just so excited, hugged me excitedly and everything.  My heart at that very moment knew that this was my home. Everybody has always made me feel like family. They are and will always be considered my family.

Danyel: I have way too many memories to share and not enough time to share them. My favorite part is getting to watch my baby sister grow with the Exchange as I have. Watching her achieve many of the goals I once had for myself. She is handling everything being thrown at her like a champ and I couldn’t be prouder.

Family serving family

Mikayla: To me, family serving family means serving the military community on a personal basis. Working here for 10 years, I have customers who have become my regulars who are like family to me. They are part of the reason why I am proud of my job and love doing what I do.

Danyel: I love the relationships with my customers; I have watched many service members and associates come and go and even come back again (like my sister!). I have been blessed to watch some of their children grow from a young age into respectable young teenagers, and I have been through the unexpected passing of people I have been honored to meet and grow a relationship with.