Hardworking High Schoolers: Balancing Work and School

Photo taken by Wes Hart

Eli Sanders (12) in the front and Jaiden Straw (12) in the back, selling customers bowling lanes and shoes for the night. This was taken during Rockin’ Bowl, which is one of their busiest public events of the week.

Several students at Fair Grove High School have jobs at various places in order to make money during the school year.

Students who work during the school year face some challenges that come with having a job. One being, they have to find the time to actually work. School takes place from 7:55 in the morning till 3:35 in the afternoon adding to the difficulty of getting enough hours to justify the company keeping them.

Senior Skyler Todd works at Price Cutter, a regional chain grocery store. Todd noted that it was hard for him, as a student, to find a job willing to work around his schedule, and stated that he has to drive 30 mins just to get to work. Todd also commented that he works 16 hours a week, but added, “I wish I could work more hours.” 

Another thing that most jobs require is a resume. At Fair Grove High School, there are a couple classes that show you how to form your own resume, including the School Based Enterprise class, and other business classes taught here. However, students are not required to take the classes that teach it, and as a result some students don’t have a resume. 

A crucial part of acquiring a job is the application process. This is the process where you ask for a job, and fill out the requested information. The specific details will vary from job to job, however, most places have some things in common. One example of a frequently asked question would be to request contact information.

Senior June Chumbley works at Raisin Cains, a chain fast food chicken place located on Sunshine and Campbell. She stated that the application process was very simple at Canes, all she had to do was fill out the application online, then Artificial Intelligence (AI) scheduled a time for her to be interviewed for the position. She also added, “I work on the weekends, [as well as] Friday through Monday, and I normally average 20 hours a week.” Chumbley expressed that working these hours during the school year gives her the funds to do the fun things she wants to do during her last year at Fair Grove High School.

Many high school students have jobs, but according to Senior Jaiden Straw, “This opens the door for me to spend money on fun experiences, having fun hanging out with friends, and overall just enhancing my high school experience!”