The alarm buzzer went off sending a loud ringing throughout the room. Sienna groaned, knowing she had to wake up. It’s still dark outside but it doesn’t matter. She has to get up for her job at Urban Air. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, the lingering thoughts of homework from the night before, now trumped by the worry of being late to work. She stumbles to the bathroom, the cold tile warns her away, but she goes to brush her teeth anyway before putting on her uniform and heading out the door – just another day of being a high-schooler with a job.
High school students take up jobs around Austin through all seasons, balancing academic responsibilities with work commitments. They do this to earn money that they can either save or spend as needed. This causes them to have hectic and busy schedules with limited breaks.
“Having a job and being in high school can be difficult,” junior Kirsten Copely said. “Trying to be the best I can be at work takes time away from doing my homework.”
Copley subs and instructs a dance class for $27 per hour, so she can save money for college and her future. While others, like Freebirds worker Samantha Schaffer, work for other reasons.
“Other than just saving money, my job helps me buy the things I want,” Schaffer said. “I don’t need to ask my parents if I want food or clothes. I have the money to buy it for myself.”
Along with having money, Copley and Schaffer both agree that having a job helps prepare them for the future by giving them a small taste of life with big responsibilities.
“It makes me more organized,” Copley said. “I mean, I’m going to need a job when I’m older, so this helps prepare me to take on the responsibilities.”
These responsibilities aren’t always small things. For sophomore Isabella Camargo, who is a babysitter for two young kids, everything is important. She needs to stay on top of everything.
“Taking care of these kids is a big leadership position,” Camargo said. “Everything’s on me: if they get fed, if they do their homework, all the things.”
Even with these tasks and the pressure of keeping kids safe, Camargo still claims that it’s not hard compared to the balancing act of dealing with school, work, and extracurricular activities.
“Sometimes, it feels like sleeping for 2 hours,” Camargo said. “I wake up for school, leave school to go to dance, then I have to babysit till late hours before getting back just to have to do homework. It’s exhausting.”
Even without school or any extracurriculars, work can be hard, like for senior Gaberial Aleman who coaches a kid’s summer swim league called the Steiner Stars.
“I work twice a day all summer long,” Aleman said. “I mean, all summer break, I barely hang out with my friends, and as soon as the kid’s summer season is over, school is already starting. It’s a busy life.”
Students work throughout the summer and sacrifice their free time for their goals and to get paid. They work in different places and with different hours, but they all work for the same thing.
“Even with all the work,” freshman Sienna Sender said,. “iIt’s worth it, not just the money but the experience.”
Serving in more ways than one: Students working in the food industry
Click the map below and locations around campus where students work to hear their perspective.
by Indie Whitaker
