By Cassidy Johnson
While it may not be talked about much, it’s a fairly common part of the high school experience, particularly for upperclassmen. Plenty of students, at Apopka High and beyond have part-time, or even full-time occupations. Though many never think about this, the barista who served your coffee that afternoon has as much chemistry and calculus homework to do as you. Teens here occupy jobs in dojos, fast food, restaurants, and bakeries. They work beyond babysitting, in grocery stores, nurseries, and even in other schools. High schoolers do more than work in the mall, they teach young children how to swim, and train and care for horses. We do this all while being full-time students.
Angel Fernando while working at Mathnasium.
It’s actually possible for someone in high school to occupy a full-time job. Just ask a senior, Kaitlyn Usher, who in May will have worked at the Chickfila at Hunt Club for 2 years. She averages between 30-40 hours a week. She’s able to do this by only having 4 classes on Apopka’s campus. Over the course of nearly 2 years, Kaitlyn has been promoted to Team Leader. With a wage of $11.00/ hour, she has more responsibility than your average 18-year-old, responsible for training and supervising new employees. Now it’s certainly not necessary for kids in high school to work as often as Kaitlyn. Take the case of another senior, Angel Fernando for instance. Angel happens to work in the same Hunt Club Plaza as Kaitlyn, at Mathnasium. Mathnasium is a mathematics tutoring center where kids of all ages and grades can go to get assistance in math subjects for a membership fee. Angel, who has been working there since July of 2017, said, “I work two shifts a week, and each shift is about 3-4 hours.” She has the privilege of truly enjoying doing her job. “I love my job. The kids there are really nice and they love me, and it’s not stressful at all. Most of the math that I do there is elementary or middle school level.”
This is the street view of Aunt Gingibread’s Bakery.
Some kids have to work. They have to pay bills; either their own or to support their family. This is partly the case of Noah Altenbach. Noah worked at Rita’s Italian Ice for about a year before the lacrosse season began. When asked why he got the job, he said, “Well it was a choice . . .” but his parent said, “well if you want a car and you want gas, get a job.” This tends to be the common circumstance for kids. Another senior, Nick Javorowski works at his family’s business Aunt Gingibread’s Bakery, not far from the school on Park Avenue. Needing money for himself Nick makes minimum wage ($8.25), admitting, “because it was a family business I got the job handed to me but I could have gone elsewhere.” He doesn’t mind his job, however washing dishes does get a little repetitive for him.
You might be surprised to learn that there are those who leave school to go work at another. Maleia Ebright spends a full day school day at Apopka High only to head after school every day to Rock Springs Elementary School. “I work as an afterschool care person. I take care of kids that are in second and third grade.” The circumstances of Maleia getting the job are as unique as her-it was a surprise from her parents. “It was my choice to get the job, but I do need money for gas. I didn’t really want to get the job but my parents surprised me with a car and they were like ‘We also got you a job,’ so it wasn’t really a choice but it’s not like my family needs money.” Making $9.00/ hour she loves her job. She says, “the kids can be little jerks sometimes but I still love them with all my heart.”