Susie Foresman is a hardworking junior who has had to learn how to balance her life between school and her job. But not just one job; Susie has two jobs she works during the week; one is at Laurel and Jack Boutique in Ada, and the other is at Cork Wine and Grille. Susie works at least twice a week for each job, so she certainly does keep busy. On top of that, she is in her junior year, which is seemingly the hardest year of high school. Susie needs to stay motivated each and every day in order to make room for her social life rather than just working every day.
“Having a job at a young age is important,” Susie said. “You learn a lot about time and money management, which will help me and others in all aspects of life once we are older.”
Susie likes to be employed for the obvious reason: to earn money. However, she goes on to take the responsibility of having two jobs because she thinks it’s good for all high schoolers to experience the workplace at some point in their teen years. It’s important to get a glimpse of what it is like before being thrown into the real world according to Susie. The lessons it has taught her can be used for all of her life.
“The workplace has taught me how to work with other people as a team to be more successful,” Susie said. “It has also given me better responsibility and a stronger work ethic.”
Susie likes having her two jobs, even though things can get stressful easily. She needs to keep up her life outside of work while also being reliable to her co-workers. While Susie maintains a steady schedule with work, there are sacrifices that she has to make. She has had to give up some things in order to keep her jobs, and she has learned that sacrifices are necessary in order to achieve balance.
“On Thanksgiving, I had to give up time spent with family,” Susie said. “In order to continue working at the restaurant, I had to go to this Thanksgiving event that all workers were required to attend.”
While Susie gets her time in the workplace as a teenager, it is leading her into how she is going to be in the real world. All of her work experience is going to be put together when it is time for her to get her dream job when she is old enough; Susie has always wanted to be a teacher, and in order to pursue this, she has entered a program at FHC to see what it is like.
“My student teaching is going really well,” Susie said. “I decided to enroll in the class Teacher Cadet this year because ever since I was a little kid, I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get a glimpse [of] what it is really like.”
Susie is super passionate about her place as a student teacher, and her two jobs have not only helped her get the skills she needs for a social job, she has also learned great communication skills, and she loves to work with kids. While she is getting to be the teacher, she is realizing the experience has actually taught her a lot so far.
“Teaching has taught me that patience is a really strong skill to have, especially in the classroom,” Susie said. “Working with younger kids can be frustrating, but being patient and remaining calm is important in the overall effectiveness of their individual learning.”
Susie certainly has a lot to say about her student teaching, and she is glad she is finally getting to explore how it is going to feel once she can do it on her own one day. Although things can be difficult at times, Susie knows how to balance and maintain peace in a busy schedule. She can give advice to others about what to expect in the teaching world even though she is just starting out herself.
“Going into student teaching, it is important to build strong relationships with your students,” Susie said. “Making sure you take the time to understand their challenges and strengths will help you know what each individual needs in order to be successful. This will increase the overall effectiveness in your teaching by analyzing their strengths and weaknesses as a student.”
