With the end of the school year approaching, students turn their attention to seeking summer activities, with many looking to pick up a job. Many individuals have their own inspiration for seeking specific employment and several reasons as to why they are seeking a job to begin with. As it turns out, the MRHS student community is well interconnected to each other outside of the classroom, but also in the workplace.
Sophomore Quin Petcher already has a job he intends to take into summer with him, “[working as a] football trainer… lets me learn to be a leader, teach others, and [allows me to] express what I love to other people.” As Petcher demonstrates, students are often drawn into jobs that they have a connection with. Perhaps this is because many students, unlike some adults, have a wide variety of viable options for them to choose from. For those seeking a place to work, one may learn from Petcher and examine the areas relating to their interests. Students can also look out for good pay, convenient location, and activities they love while seeking employment, especially during a period in which they have time, like the summer.
“I’ll be working at a summer camp. I’ve met a few people there I want to go back and see. I’ve been [a camper] there for a few years now and… being an assistant counselor gives [a lot of experience] in taking care of kids,” states sophomore Piper Zuniga.
Zuniga is returning to her camp in a leadership position, gaining experience she may be able to use in the future while sharing a bonding experience with her friends from previous years. Many students, like Zuniga, keep an eye out for where their friends are working so that they can have a job together and have more fun doing something productive. Others though take a different route and place a heavier emphasis on personal gain rather than social bonds.
“There’s not anywhere I was going to apply [for the summer],” claims freshman Tyler Ostopowicz, “[but in the near future], I’m hoping to enroll in camps or other positions that could hopefully give me the necessary experience to apply for positions [I want] to give me an advantage. Hosting events,… social camps,… and lower level jobs like working at fast food… could get me the experience I’d like.”
Some individuals choose their workplace for the people there, some for the money, and other people select for the opportunities they will have access to and experience gained. All of these are commonly regarded as proper motives, especially while in high school. The job you choose now does not have to be the job you have in the future. All of these students that take advantage of this fact may learn what they like to do, and just as importantly, what they want to avoid in their future.
