A high school workload can quickly become overwhelming for students, but some still try to manage working on the side. For sophomore Riley Norris, working outside of school is a natural part of her life, and learning to balance school work on top of that is a skill she has acquired over time. She works at her stepfather’s business: The Keyless Shop.
“I balance my work life and school life by staying on top of my work at all times,” Norris said. “Whenever I have breaks at work, I take that time to do my school work and get stuff done.”
Norris spends her work days cutting and programming keys, as well as helping customers and clients during their time at the store.
“Sometimes if it’s slow I just make sure the shop is clean, and I use that free time to get work done,” Norris said. “On busy days I’m running back and forth to different cars.”
Much like Norris, junior Hazel Johnson also has to balance her school, work and social lives. Johnson works at The Escape Game Austin. She runs games, gets to know groups of people she’s in charge of guiding through the rooms and helps reset the rooms after a game.
“It can definitely be tricky working nights during the school year,” Johnson said. “I started this semester working four days a week, and I’ve already had to cut down a day because those nights were a lot. It’s tiring going straight from school to work an eight-hour shift, but it’s definitely doable, and I love my job, so that helps.”
Johnson has found a way to make school and work coexist. She finds time in her schedule to catch up with school, work a job and still manages to find time to do things that she loves outside of that.
“I don’t know exactly how I balance school and work,” Johnson said. “They’re very separate for me, but I have to make enough time to do homework and make time for other hobbies.”
Gabriella Smith is another McCallum student who makes time for both work and school. Smith works at Lilla & Beth, a boutique in Mueller. She spends her work days cleaning up the shop and keeping clothes and jewelry tidy. She helps customers and makes sure everything is in check.
“I really enjoy keeping everything clean and organized,” Smith said. “I steam clothes, check people out at the register, manage the dressing rooms and keep all of the clothes in order.”
Going to school five days a week and working both days on the weekend can quickly become overwhelming for students, so Smith works on either Saturday or Sunday instead of both.
“I never work both Saturday and Sunday so I manage to balance homework and my school life easily,” Smith said. “Working on the weekends is pretty easy. The Sunday shift is only 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., but Saturdays are harder because it’s 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.”
Despite the struggles of managing a busy schedule, these students persevere and show everyone that anything is possible.
“Success and school should come before doing all the extra activities,” Norris said. “So don’t stress and just find a good schedule for yourself.”
