Juniors Nicole Dauberman, Haley Hebel and Alexa Reider show off their class spirit by wearing green for class color day on Wednesday, Sept. 29. Freshmen students were to wear blue, Sophomores were to wear purple, Juniors were to wear green and Seniors were to wear pink on class color day. Photograph by Alex Stine
Students Face the Workforce Head-on
January 4, 2022
Many teenagers have the responsibility of going to school during the day and then going to a job right after school, while also attending practice and games- on top of homework.
A study done by Zippia Research showed that in 2020, 1.3 million teenagers ages 16-19 had jobs. During the summer months, roughly 51 percent of teens had jobs; however, when the school year started, this fell to 30 percent.
Junior Lexy Reider knows how working can make school more challenging.
“I work at Mason Dixon Family Restaurant two or three days a week,” Reider said. “I do think that having a job can make school more difficult because you never know what is going to come up in school. You may get overwhelmed and need a day off from work, but that might not be possible.”
Reider also values how having a job can be beneficial for teens.
“I think it’s all about finding a place that works for you and fits your needs,” Reider said. “Having a job has taught me how to budget my money and not just spend it because I can. It’s taught me responsibility.”
Junior Katherine Reall explains how balancing school and work can be difficult at times.
“I’d say the hardest part of working and managing school is finding time to do some of my longer school work,” Reall said. “I sometimes have projects, and it is difficult to complete them with the little time I have.”
Even though it can be hard, Reall explains how having a job during the school year has benefitted her.
“Having a job has definitely taught me to be more responsible because I have to be able to manage my time and keep up my grades,” Reall said.
Junior Olivia Agostino is able to balance school and work.
“I have been working at Dunkin Donuts since March 2021 and am involved in figure skating, Aevidum’, and Mini-Thon,” Agostino said. “The hardest part would be not overworking myself, and sometimes it can be difficult to maintain. I have been managing it for multiple months and it isn’t too hard, but it can be really exhausting.”
Agostino has learned a lot from working.
“Working has definitely taught me responsibilities with maintaining many other aspects of life,” Agostino said. “It taught me how to deal with different problems and tasks that may not be that common in my everyday life.”
Having a job while attending school can be challenging and tiring, but it gives them a chance to work on their problem-solving skills as well as their communication skills.