From studying for tests to slinging ice cream, the Amy’s Ice Cream crew on Burnet Road puts in their fair share of work. A significant portion of the staff are McCallum students, who devote their after school and weekend hours to serving sweet scoops for the Austin community.

Junior Isley Cameron has been working at the Burnet location for nearly a year, having started out through a recommendation from a family member.

“My big sister Ella used to work at Amy’s as well,” Cameron said. “Now she works at the Houston location. But I always wanted to work there with her.”

When Cameron decided to apply for the job, her first step was to draw on the trademark paper bag, the traditional Amy’s job application. When she got a phone call and secured an interview, all she had to do was wait to see if she got the job. Now an experienced employee, Cameron has additional responsibilities.

“There’s two types of people: there’s scoops and there’s pit boss,” she said. “I’m a pit boss, so I have to count up all the money from the ATM.”

Cameron said being able to grow new friendships on the job makes shifts more manageable and enjoyable.

“It’s always like, ‘Oh, I just get to hang out with my friends,’” Cameron said.

Not all McCallum students at Amy’s are longtime workers like Cameron. Though he is an employee at the 6th Street location, senior Darin Fowler is an example of this, having only been working for a few weeks.

“I’m just a scooper right now so I’m just scooping the ice cream and checking people [out],” Fowler said. “And of course, making every customer’s day.”

Fowler first became interested in the job to save money for college.

“My friend [junior] Trinity [Ritcherson] just got a job at the 6th Street location and I thought it sounded fun,” he said. “And I was right. I’ve grown up going to Amy’s and the workers have always been so nice and cool. I wanted to be that person for other people.”

Senior Avery Atkinson, who has been working at the Burnet location for a year and a half, shares a similar sentiment.

“Every time I go in there, everyone seems to be having fun when they’re working,” Atkinson said. “One of my friends, [senior] Edie [Birkholz], was already working there, and I thought maybe I should just try to apply. I had been looking for a first job and I just felt like that was the perfect thing.”

When Atkinson turned in the signature Amy’s paper bag, which she had made a collage on, she got accepted to the job. Initially, she said she was nervous and a little intimidated.

“I had no idea how a register worked, and how to even count money, really,” Atkinson said. “It took me a while to get in the groove of it but once I did it was really fun.”

Another Burnet Road employee, senior Jude Masoni, found the job to be hectic when he first began as Atkinson did, but he also found the perks are undeniable.

“I work with my friends and I get free ice cream,” Masoni said. “So I can’t complain.”

Masoni said the McCallum workers at Amy’s provide a positive community.

“It’s just fun because you get to go into work and you never know who you’re working with, but you know it’s going to be your friend,” he said.

Though fun is the usual work environment at Amy’s, Fowler noted workers still face obstacles such as balancing schoolwork and soreness.

“The workload is pretty easy but my wrist is always in so much pain by the end of the shift from scooping too much,” he said.

Fowler usually only works two or three days a week, so he said it doesn’t take up too much of his time, and he can still focus on school.

“I always work the closing, which can be a lot on a school night because I don’t get home until like midnight,” Fowler said. “It really isn’t too bad though, because I pretty much have three off periods, so I have a lot of time to do schoolwork.”

Atkinson is also familiar with late nights at Amy’s.

“It’s hard to balance it sometimes since we just close really late, at like 10:30, and I’ll just go home and fall asleep without doing any homework,” she said. “But I somehow make time to finish my schoolwork while also working weeknights.”

Late nights or not, Atkinson said the reason she’s stayed at Amy’s for so long is the crew who work alongside her.

“I’ve made a lot of friends from other schools, and I get to meet a lot of people and customers,” she said.

Cameron is in agreement with Atkinson on this aspect of the ice cream shop. She said a lot of her best friends are ones she has made from working at Amy’s.

“I love it,” Cameron said. “It’s like my little Amy’s family.”

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