Making it work
Students figure out how to balance a job and school since major changes to their schedules occured because of COVID-19
photo illustration by abby price
by ashley guddat and riley pope
A
large portion of GJHS students have to balance a job and school. Though some choose to get their jobs as a source of income for themselves, others rely on their jobs in order to support their families. Especially now that COVID has taken over the workplace, students have been forced to be more flexible, picking up shifts to supplement other’s schedules. Sailer Warinner, junior, works at Old Navy. She got her job over the summer as a way to make extra money for herself to save for her Africa trip she hopes to go on in the summer of 2022. “I don’t work on Sundays because that’s just like a religion/family thing that we don’t do work on Sundays-it’s a family day, but a couple times I’ve had to go in for people on Sundays because they were either affected by COVID or their schedules didn’t work out,” Warinner said. She doesn’t mind picking up a few extra shifts to help coworkers, but it can be frustrating when it takes time
out of her days off. Sophomore Cassidy Frasier who works at Taco Bell, has also had to fill in for coworkers due to COVID related situations. “There is a lot of issues about covering hours when people miss work because of COVID [since] they have to be out until they get their test back or the full ten days until they get better,” Frasier said. “But we have a lot of employees so it is not a huge deal.” Work affects Warriner’s schooling since she doesn’t usually get home until about 9:30 p.m. and then still has to complete homework assignments for the next day. Senior Wyatt Farnsworth who works at Wendy’s doesn’t get home until 1- 2 a.m and goes to bed around 3:30 a.m. “[There are] not necessarily grade issues, however some students are very tired in class and we do have [kids working] some of those really late night shifts that struggle a bit,” counselor Lori Plantiko said. With the large number of students
holding jobs at GJHS, Plantiko wishes more students knew about a work experience opportunity where students can allocate one period of their schedules to work. They can earn up to two elective credits for every sixty hours they work during that time. For most students work isn’t about the money for everyday necessities, but for others the consequences of not working due to COVID are more serious. Sophomore Corbin MacLeod currently works several different jobs to help his father who has health problems that make extensive amounts of work challenging. Between his jobs at Clutterbug, at the Elk Lodge and picking up odd construction jobs, MacLeod works around 40 hours a week. “Work, definitely, [is my priority]. It helps me with my family and with my father kind of building that bond between our family and keeping us together,” MacLeod said. “It also provides me money for my future.”