Senior Jia Niemeyer has been to more weddings than most: approximately 20.
She is not necessarily attending these because she knows the bride and groom; she is an opening server at The Broadway Avenue, a local wedding venue. Her job typically consists of setting up the bread and drinks for the guests. She works alongside others at each of these weddings, and they set all of the tables, bring up food if it is plated, and serve the guests their food.
Along with working at a wedding venue, Jia also works at R-Athletics as a coach for lower-level gymnasts, and she works at the YMCA as a lifeguard. Balancing so many jobs may seem difficult, but Jia has figured out how to make it work.
“I stack my load,” Jia said. “I do gymnastics and diving as my sports, and I take AP classes. There’s definitely a lot to balance. Basically, Sundays are for parties at R-Athletics and wedding tastings. Saturdays are lifeguarding in the morning and weddings in the afternoon. On Fridays, if there’s a wedding, then at night after practice, I go to the wedding venue. Tuesdays are for coaching [at R-Athletics]. I stack my weekend.”
Jia thinks it is very beneficial to have a job because it is good to be busy and to learn how to manage a school, work, and sports schedule. She also believes it helps with time management.
One of the main reasons, though, that she works so many jobs is because she is going to have to pay for most of her college. Having these jobs that all pay well is helping her save up in order to pay for her college tuition. Similarly to Jia, seniors Grace Barber and Peyton Ludwig both enjoy the freedom of making their own money from their jobs.
“[I liked] the thought of being independent and making your own money,” Peyton said. “It’s not your parents doing or anything; [it] is all on you.”
Grace also likes to have spending money for everyday things like going to restaurants.
“I needed to get a job that makes some money,” Grace said. “It’s nice to have money for eating out and stuff.”
Peyton works at Target where she stocks the shelves of the food aisles. She only works about once a month during the school year, which contrasts with Jia’s busy work schedule. She does something called “on-demand” where she only has to work once every four weeks. Over the summer and holiday breaks, she usually works much more than that.
“I like how flexible [Target] is,” Peyton said. “They are really understanding that school is my priority over work right now. So, they have this thing called on-demand where you only have to work once every four weeks.”
Grace also has a fairly flexible work schedule at her job, Clean Eatz. She got this job through her neighbors because they own the restaurant. During her sports seasons, she usually works once a week, and during the off-season, she works three to four times a week. One of her favorite memories of working there is blasting Taylor Swift songs with senior Lucy Yoder. Some of the main skills Grace has gained from her job include being more willing to talk to new people, money-saving habits, and being better at time management.
“I think I’m at least slightly better at going out of my way to talk to people,” Grace said. “That’s good customer service, and that’s not something [that is] a strong suit of mine otherwise, so I practice at that. I think that having a job as a high schooler helps you learn important skills and saving habits”
Jia’s multitude of jobs has also helped her to refine her people skills. She has been working since she was 14 and has had many jobs prior to the three she has now: a barista at Nona’s Pantry, a baker at D&W, and others.
Having good social skills is a very important skill that will be used for the rest of your life. Jia has already bettered these skills from having a job, and she recommends others get a job because it will give them valuable skills that will be used for the rest of their lives.
“I would recommend [that] people get a job,” Jia said. “I think everyone should have a job before they graduate high school for the experience. I’ve learned a lot of my people skills, and I’ve learned a lot about customer service. And I think those skills are important.”
