Dual-lives

Part time jobs

Photo: Junior Chloe Rodriguez makes pizza boxes at her local Pizza Hut.

Junior Chloe Rodriguez makes pizza boxes at her local Pizza Hut. Photo courtesy of Joe Newman.

It’s a long day for junior Chloe Rodriguez. She’s got tests in her math and English class, plus a lengthy lecture from English teacher Dr. John Howard. Her face is worn and she’s often caught with her head down, limp against her desk. However, her day isn’t quite over. She’s one of many high school students who work part-time jobs to earn extra money for themselves or their families. From childcare to retail, students across Blair are working in various positions – gaining powerful job experience in the process. 

Restaurants

Rodriguez will spend the rest of her day working in a fast-food kitchen. “I work at Pizza Hut,” she says. “I'm a cashier, but I kind of just do everything. I do stuff in the front, I cut all the pizzas, and I put toppings on things too.” 

Rodriguez says her main motivation for getting the job was to support her family. “I wanted to save some money,” she says. “But I also wanted to alleviate some financial burden from my parents.” 

Rodriguez states that she also works for more than just the money. Working has taught her valuable lessons about patience and perseverance. 

“My job has taught me more about being able to show up every day, and getting through adversity,” she says. “Because there are a lot of days when I just don't feel like going, [and] I still have to go.” Rodriguez explains that her work helped her learn to deal with pressure, which is a skill she wants to apply to school. “I think I learned a lot about working with other people and working under pressure,” she says. “When I get that five o'clock rush, sometimes it's just me there and that kind of taught me to just buckle down and not beat myself up so much.”

Lifeguarding 

Junior Fiona Nellis states that she’s learned similar lessons at her job as a lifeguard and swim instructor. “As a lifeguard, what really helped me through both of these jobs is my communication skills,” she says. “This has helped me in school too, with my teachers and just people in general. Communicating with patrons, and emailing my boss helped me hone those skills.” 

Nellis explains that her job as a lifeguard involves a lot of focus and patience. “Basically, as a lifeguard, I make sure everybody on the pool deck is safe, so making sure people are not, tripping and falling, and making sure people aren't running,” she says. “And then, as a swim instructor, I teach people from six months old to adults how to swim… I will teach six lessons every Saturday, and each lesson is around 30 minutes.” 

However, Nellis’ motivation for working is different from Rodriguez’s. “My main motivation was [that work] was a way to use my time in the summer, and I also swim, so I was able to be near water and around people my own age.” 

Nellis encourages other teenagers to work part-time jobs as well, citing that school often doesn’t teach real-world skills. “I think having a job as a teenager is good because it teaches you a lot of skills that you probably wouldn't learn just by going to school,” she says. “There’s so much out there.”

Childcare 

Senior Momodou Kuyateh agrees, saying that being a childcare assistant gave him his strong communication skills, which will help him in the future job market. “Working gives me a great sense of responsibility and time management,” he says. “It also sets me up for future jobs because now I have valuable skills.” 

As a childcare worker, Kuyateh explains that he picks up elementary school students and helps them with their homework. “I pretty much just pick the kids up from the bus stop and ensure they have fun and stay productive,” he says. 

Kuyateh says he was looking for a feeling of freedom and independence from his parents, something many cite as a major motivation for working. “I didn’t want to rely on my parents as much, and I wanted to gain a sense of responsibility early in life,” he says. “I was always asking my parents for money, and I decided one day that I wanted to have an income that I could use whenever.” 

Is it worth it? 

There are numerous examples of jobs that are accessible to high schoolers in and around the area, but is it really worth pursuing? Rodriguez admits that working a part-time job along with school isn’t for everyone. “You have to be someone who can manage your time well because it can be a burden at times,” she says. “For me, it can sometimes be difficult because I have to dedicate 14 hours a week to something along with school.”

The one thing Rodriguez mentions that she’s kept with her throughout her work experience is her spirit of tenacity and hard work. “Overall, working has taught me that life isn’t going to wait for you,” Rodriguez says. “You have to attack it yourself.”