Photo by Austin Coats
Beth Barefoot makes an ice cream at Dairy Queen.
Photo by Austin Coats
Morgan Dew rings up a customer’s bill at the Sandpiper Seafood Restaurant.
Photo by Austin Coats
Jessica Gautier punching in the register at her job at Clinton Drug.
Students in high school have a lot on their plate. They have worksheets to do, papers to write, projects to finish, and books to read. However, they have to have gas and spending money, too, which in many cases means finding a job.
Most students aren’t able to get money any other way than having a job. After school jobs are a great source of spending money for high school students. Working part time is sometimes required by students, and is very rewarding. Jobs and community service help acquire experience and friendships, which are things high school students need.
Some employers, such as Tamara Robinson, hire a lot of people to work that are still in school. Robinson owns the Dairy Queen in Clinton. She said she loves to hire high school and community college students, but also does not shy away from employees who are out of school, either.
Out of a work staff of 17, 15 of them are still going to school.
The chemistry between the employees is great because the majority of those working are teenagers. They are on the same “wavelength,” so to speak. Her business is family-oriented, and she feels that the students that work for her can better communicate with her main customers, which are other kids.
Robinson is very flexible when handling the workers’ schedules. Seventeen-year-old Beth Barefoot attends Sampson Early College High School and works at Dairy Queen. This is her fourth year being at the Early College. She says her work schedule doesn’t interfere with school at all. Her grades have been consistent and the work hours aren’t excessive. Robinson works with her to establish when she can work. She has been working at Dairy Queen for about four months and she says she loves her job. The work staff gets along great with each other. She has made a lot of friends during her time working there; in fact, Barefoot says she is a friend to the whole staff. Whether she is making ice cream or cleaning it up, Barefoot enjoys her job.
Another student at the Early College, Morgan Dew, works at the Sandpiper Seafood Restaurant in Clinton. She’s 17 and this is her fourth year attending the Early College. Dew has been working at Sandpiper Seafood for over a year now. You can usually catch her working on the weekends. She’s hosted there before, but now she works take-out. She meets a lot of people, mostly customers, who come in and out of the restaurant on a regular basis. She gets along with her coworkers well, too, she said, making the work experience a good one for her.
Her work hours do not interfere with her schoolwork, which is a perk of working on the weekends.
Dew’s boss, Denise Matthews, says that Morgan is a very good employee. Matthews has about 10 or 12 high school and college students that work at Sandpiper. All of the jobs are worked part time there. Matthews enjoys giving young people their first job.
Jessica Gautier works at Clinton Drug. She’s a fifth-year studentat the Early College. She likes working at Clinton Drug, where she’s been for a year and a half now. Gautier’s schoo lwork isn’t impacted by her work hours. She’s consistent with her grades, probably because the hours are well managed and the times are workable.
She works a couple of days a week and then every other weekend. Her supervisor, Lorraine Hemingway, says that Gautier is a great worker. Hemingway says Gautier gets along with the other employees very well. Clinton Drug hires many part-time workers that go to school. In fact, most of the part-time staff is still in school. The staff gets along well and cooperates with each other.
Many high school students get part-time jobs. Not only do they provide money; they are also rewarding in experience and friendships, teens will tell you. These kids will remember their jobs for the rest of their lives and the experience will follow them as long as they live.
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