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- Junior Izzy Rosenblatt works at Newtonville Pet some days after school.
by Julia Oran
In the past few years, studies have shown that students are under more and more pressure. Why would a student want to add more stress by working?
Having a job teaches “good work ethic and life skills,” said Joe Prestejohn, the owner of Cabot’s Ice Cream and Restaurant.
According to Prestejohn, Cabot’s employs 12 to 15 students, out of about 45 regular employees, but it depends on the students’ availability, especially if they are also involved in sports.
“For most of them,” Prestejohn said, “it’s their first job, and it’s a good experience to work in the community and near the school.”
Prestejohn said when hiring a student, he looks at “cleanliness, availability, friendly per-sonality, positive attitude and the ability to handle work and school and not become over-whelmed.”
“Over the years,” he added, “Students have become more stressed out and experience more pressure of doing well in school.
“It is hard to balance it, but those who do should be com-mended,” said Prestejohn.
Anthony Sirignano, a district-wide employee for students of Newton Public Schools, is a “resource to students who are looking for job, volunteer or internship opportunities,” he said.
“My goal,” said Sirignano, “is to identify jobs that best match a student’s skills, interests and abilities.”
He added that, “Students are looking for a variety of jobs ranging from office work to landscaping positions.”
However, Sirignano said, “I strongly believe that students should find a balance among school, work and extra-curricular activities, which suits their current situation and supports future goals.”
Junior Elizabeth Bianchi, who has been working at Cabot’s for about six months, said, “I got a job so I’m not just hanging around after school and to start to get me ready for life after high school.”
Bianchi said, “I put all my money in the bank to save up for a car, and so I can also go on the Italian exchange trip.”
In addition, she said she usually works three to four days a week, so she does her schoolwork during free periods and when she gets home from school.
“The best part about working,” she said, “is knowing you’re earning your own money.”
However, she added that the worst part is “dealing with some rude customers.”
Similar to Bianchi, senior Justin Keefe said the worst part of his job at Modell’s is when rude customers get mad at him for “things that have absolutely nothing to do” with him.
However, Keefe said the most rewarding part is getting his paycheck because, he said, “I usually keep roughly 20 percent of my weekly paycheck for my-self.
“I save the rest of it, so I will have spending money in college next year.”
Keefe said he began working at Modell’s in April because he “needed something to do over the summer and money, of course. Also, I liked the store itself and could see myself working there.”
During the summer, Keefe worked about 25 hours a week, but now he is “lucky to be in there about 15 hours a week,” he said.
In addition, “because of school and cross country, I almost only work on weekends.”
Keefe added, “My three biggest time consumers are school, work and cross country. School and cross country never over-lap, so that’s never a problem, but work certainly gets in the way sometimes.”
Despite his full schedule, Keefe said, “I find time to hang out with friends in between all that stuff.”
Senior Genevieve Resnick, however, does not have any issues trying to find time to see her friends because she sees them at her job at the Village Café.
Resnick said she started working there in part because of her close friends but also because, “It’s close to my house, and I needed money.” Resnick said she saves most of her earn-ings.
Because she only works on Saturdays, Resnick said, “It’s easy to balance with school.”
She added that her favorite part is the “free food,” and her least favorite part is cleaning.
Junior Izzy Rosenblatt also dislikes the clean up at her job, but it is a different kind of clean up because she works at Newtonville Pet.
She has been working at Newtonville Pet for about a year and a half and works for five hours each day after school because, she said, “I like working.”
Also, Rosenblatt said, “Working motivates me to work hard, teaches time management and forces me to get things done before they’re due.”
According to Steve Cohen, owner of Newtonville Pet, he currently has two students working at his store, out of the nine regular employees.
He said it is good to have student employees because, “It’s a local connection and a family run business.”
