My name is Tomasz Drzal and I’m a letter carrier in Hicksville, NY, which is part of Long Island.
I came to the United States from the south of Poland when I was 16. I went to school in Connecticut for the last two years of high school. I played soccer to help me adjust.
I decided to join the Postal Service because I was working at an airline in Bethpage, NY. The company had a contract with USPS for Priority Mail. When the contract ended, the airline employees were offered a chance to pursue a career with the Postal Service.
That’s how I became a letter carrier. I love the job. The weather can be challenging, but I have really good supervisors. That makes coming to work easier, and I have formed a lot of friendships on the route.
A typical day starts at 7:30 a.m. I arrive at the Hicksville Post Office and start organizing the mail.
Next, I deliver to businesses and break for lunch, then do the residential deliveries. It takes me three hours to do the businesses and three hours to do the residential.
I love this country and am thankful. I won the lottery when I was given an opportunity to live and work here. I want to give back to America, and working for the Postal Service allows me to do that.
“On the Job,” a column on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.
