By Christy Han, Staff Writer
Many Harrisites are involved in various extracurriculars, clubs and activities after school. However, there are some students who use their time to work in order to pursue a passion, learn more about a particular area, or just to make a little extra cash.
Senior Nathalie Moronta works at Cook’s Arts and Crafts Shoppe in Glendale and received the opportunity to work there over the summer. Having been a part of the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) organized by the Department of Youth and Community Development, she got the job through their sister program called the Work, Grow, and Learn (WGL) Program. The WGL Program is an after school program for kids to learn how to manage their time between work and school.
Working does not affect her time management, as she said, “I just have to check in with my supervisor to communicate how many hours I’ll be working that week and the days I’ll be coming in that week. I can only work 10 hours a week unless there is a school break.” As a senior, she is finished with all of her classes after seventh band, which allows her to go to work right after and complete her 10 hours by the end of the week.
Even while being involved in FON, Nathalie manages to divide her time well. She said, “I try to get to work by 2:00 PM and stay until 7:00 PM, allowing me to complete the 10 hours in two days. This leaves me with three days to go to FON practices, and because my supervisor is accommodating to my school/after school schedule, it allows me to manage with ease.”
Sophomore Victoria Oei works at a Kumon center in Long Island City and got the job through a friend of the manager. She explained, “I was looking around for a tutoring job, or anything to do with children and/or teaching since I’m hoping to become an elementary school teacher in the future.” She works three days a week,which she said affects her school work, especially on Tuesdays. She said, “I just lack the motivation to study because I’m so tired.”
Some students choose to leave work for the summer if they have too many extracurricular activities during the school year. Sophomore Amar Maksumic worked as a software and basic hardware specialist at a PC Repair Shop over the summer. He said, “If I was to continue doing the job now, then yes, it would interfere with my time management,” as he is involved in the Robotics team and is also a part of a Folk, a traditional dancing/acting group.
However, through all of the hardships, they were still able to learn and gain the benefits of working. Amar stated, “I learned how to diagnose problems on computers and fix computers and even got to build a couple computers from scratch. I was also able to see what it is like to work behind a counter and the different customers that workers have to deal with.”
“I learned how to maximize my time — I try to spend time with God on my way to school, do homework on the way back to Kumon and back, etc.,” Victoria added.
“[Working has] taught me that I am able to work and go to school,” said Nathalie. “It had definitely impacted my ability to time manage and self reflect on my skill capabilities in school, and while working.”
Thus, working isn’t just about making money, although Victoria stated, “The extra money in my pocket doesn’t hurt.” As you continue to work, you will see that working reaps other benefits, such as better time management and interacting with new people.
