WORK
Working Beyond the ClassroomBY PATRICK UHLMAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2013
When the bell rings at the end of a typical school day, the average high school student might go straight home, go to an extracurricular activity or attend practice for a sport in which they participate. However, there is a relatively small group of students who have a different destination after school.
Whether it is to help pay for the usual teenage expenses like car insurance, gas, phone bills, or food, or if it is forced by parents to instill a good work ethic or responsibility, some students work a part-time job when they are not at school. While there are more students with jobs than you might think, those with a consistent part-time job are still a minority at Rose. Perhaps the reason for this is because attending school and working simultaneously can at times be quite difficult and even overwhelming for some. Junior Lauryn McDowell has been working at Bailey’s since the end of the summer. She sometimes finds it difficult to make time for all of her schoolwork while also maintaining her job. “I have four AP classes a day, so it kind of makes doing homework a little harder,” McDowell said. She also has found that working interfered with participating in other activities. “I was on the cross country team, but I got kicked off because of work,” McDowell said. Although there are some drawbacks, working is not entirely a negative thing; in fact, some people enjoy it. It teaches better time management skills, gives a sense of responsibility and provides a form of income, which is usually the prevailing reason for having a job. “I love working there,” McDowell said. “And it’s a good way to make money.” Typically students with jobs are upperclassmen; however, sophomore Cooper Kunkel has been working at Domino’s since his freshman year, for a total of about six months. “I work about three or four days a week, about 16 hours a week,” Kunkel said. He often feels overwhelmed and struggles to get all of his homework done for school and make it to activities outside of school, including sports or social events. “I lose sleep because when I get home I have to stay up doing schoolwork,” Kunkel said. “I also miss some sporting events because of work.” Despite the difficulties proposed by having a job, Kunkel remains in his Customer Service Representative position at Domino’s mainly for the benefit of earning his own spending money. “I work the job so I can have money and pay for gas and other needs,” Kunkel said. The recurring reason for holding a part-time job in high school is usually for the spending money; however in some cases it is more serious than that. Senior Alonzo Davis works at Bojangles not for extra money, but to support himself in the real world. “I only got the job because I live by myself,” Davis said. “It’s a lot at times to go to school and go to work and pay for things.” Naturally, the expenses that go with living alone are much greater than what the average student has to handle, forcing Davis to work longer and more frequent shifts. He works after school from five until anywhere between 11:30 and 1:00 in the morning on a typical shift. “Sometimes I work about four days a week and if you count weekends sometimes all seven days,” Davis said. Regardless of his busy work schedule, Davis manages to handle his schoolwork well, preferring to get homework done in class before he leaves school so he can dedicate his time outside of school to working. Yet even with all of that, he still finds time to enjoy some other activities as well. “I actually still play lacrosse for Pitt and as a goalie here I coach,” Davis said. This just goes to show that while having a job during the school year can sometimes be difficult and overwhelming, it can be done and can help push a student to become a responsible adult for doing it, such as in the case of Davis. “If you’re committed to what you want to do,” Davis said. “You’ll be able to get it done, right to the point.” HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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