Hawks juggle jobs, school, and safety during the pandemic

Destiny Moore, Writer

What are students doing during the pandemic when they‘re not at school? Many students are working during the pandemic due to not being able to do other things such sports, socializing, and traveling. Most high schoolers are working in places like retail, fast food places, and even babysitting.

Senior Mason Foy, 17, works at Sonic in Kirkwood. 

“Sonic is a fast paced job and a workout,” he explains.

He mentioned how even though we’re in the midst of a pandemic, masses of people still are eating there, as well as many other places. Nevertheless, with this being his first job, he said that the experience working at Sonic is preparing him for his next job, and the pay is not so bad either.  

“There are students that work with fast food that can be quite stressful indeed,” he said.

Therefore, some people may like this environment and some may not. 

A big issue in fast food places is hygiene and safety. Due to the pandemic students that are working in fast food places need to be even more careful with themselves and the food. 

“During the pandemic workers are required to wear masks and also make sure that their uniforms are always clean and presentable,” said Senior Jaiden Lei’Aye, 18, who works at Lee’s Chicken.

Another job that is common with most students is retail.  Retail requires workers to interact with customers on a daily basis. Working in retail can be helpful  for students that are going towards the

Mason Foy (top) and Alicia Ford have both managed to maintain their jobs during the pandemic, despite its challenges.

business route because it provides social skills that are useful  for when it comes  to getting jobs.  But working in retail comes responsibility.  It requires you to understand that the customer is always right.  

“Working at Schnucks affords me the opportunity to be most responsible. Not just with customers, but when it comes to  stocking shelves, pushing carts, and bagging groceries,” explained Alicia Ford.

Believe it or not, there are some some jobs for teens that aren’t retail or fast food. Some students like the opportunity to work with kids. Even though some people may speculate, “how can you babysit when a pandemic is going on?”

Senior Terrah Simms, 17, noted that since the pandemic is going, she has to continuously wear masks around the kids and their parents, and constantly wash her hands. She stated that the only time she removes her mask is to eat.  

But she understands that to protect people from catching COVID she fully prepared herself to deal with these struggles as she works, even though juggling work and school at this time is draining.

“Its kinda stressful because I will work about 2:30pm to 12am because most of the parents have second jobs and some go out or run errands so I have to do homework or assignments at night and I am usually very tired,” she said.