Have you ever wondered what it’s like for a student to work while maintaining school responsibilities? Follow along as I bring you throughout my day as a student worker at Weis.
To start my day, I wake up at 7:00 a.m., brush my teeth, get dressed, grab my backpack, and head out the door 25 minutes later. I arrive at school at 7:45 a.m. and start the school day at 8:00 a.m. I get through all my classes that end at 2:40 p.m. before getting on the bus to head home. I arrive home at 3:00 p.m. and get ready for work. I have a uniform of a red shirt and black pants, work shoes, and an ID tag. I leave home at 3:15 and get to work within ten minutes.
When I work, I start at 3:30 p.m. on school days and have a diverse schedule on the weekends. I work in many different departments, often moved around, but mainly in the produce department. I stock the shelves and clean the back room by sweeping and mopping, emptying the trash, bringing back empty boxes to be compacted, and keeping the department neat and clean. Corey, a manager at the store, has said, “Drake is a very intelligent kind associate and he balances work and school exceptionally, his future is as bright as he makes it.”
There are many things I’m not allowed to do when it comes to my job because I’m a minor. I have to keep a box cutter without the blade in it. I also cannot operate any machines. I’m not allowed to throw cardboard into a baler. I’m not allowed to utilize a pallet jack. After four hours, I end work at 7:30 p.m., get picked up, and get home at 7:40 p.m.
When I get home, I eat dinner and head to my room to do any homework I was assigned that day. Any task takes me roughly 30 minutes. After all that, I shower and then play video games with any time left. Finally, I lay down in bed to fall asleep at midnight. I repeat this cycle for every school day except the two school days a week I have off. On those days, I get my homework done early and laze around.
I hope my experience will encourage other students to get jobs and see the benefits and detriments for themselves.
