By Siena Houk, Staff Writer
Here at River Hill High School, many upperclassmen are doing more than just keeping up with homework, clubs and sports. With the new responsibilities that come along with being a junior or senior comes more freedom, like getting a job. From after-school shifts to summer jobs, these students are learning how to balance their tasks while getting a look at their future as working adults.
Junior Bella O’Rourke spent her summer soaking up the sun as a lifeguard at Clemens Crossing Pool in Columbia. She explains, “I have been working here for a while, and the application process was pretty straightforward. I had to take a lifeguarding course to make sure I was qualified, and once I finished, I was given the job.” Because lifeguarding is such an essential job, you have to go through rigorous training in order to prove that you are certified in water rescue skills, CPR, First Aid and AED use. Only employed during the summer, Bella is “happy that I don’t have to conflict my work schedule with school and sports.”
Balancing school and work can be hard for most. Junior Vickie Backus works at her family’s store and believes that juggling both school and a job is “really hard. It causes a lot of stress because I have to go in, but sometimes there is no time for me to do my homework. I try to find a balance with time management, but I am still working on it.” Along with her, senior Gwen Sokira works as a barista at Dunkin and also has issues “finding time to complete school work after my shifts. Sometimes, while I am on break, I will try to complete some, but with my heavy course load, it is almost impossible. I find myself up late most nights doing it.”
On the more positive side of having a job, many students are finally able to indulge in the process of making, saving and spending their own money. Junior Andersen Connor made around “12 dollars an hour when I worked as a sales assistant in Delaware over the summer. It was really exciting to make money finally and get to have some more freedom.”
With earning money comes the thought of what to do with it. Junior Wasif Khalid was determined to “put most of it in savings because I know it will help me in the future with college and gas money. Some of it I will set aside for clothes I may want, but for the most part, I put it in savings.” Similarly, O’Rourke “saves all of it. I am preparing for college with the money I make because that is really important to me.”
Overall, new job opportunities are an exciting new experience for our upperclassmen Hawks, with so many doors and responsibilities now available to them. Whether students are just getting a job or have had one for a while now, many are able to get some experience in the work field while learning to balance their daily life.