Working on Break

Lifeguard

Get tan. Watch the water. And get paid while doing it with your friends. Lifeguarding is a popular teenage job many East students take advantage of due to its laid back nature.

“Just sitting in a chair and yelling at little kids for a job is awesome,” said senior Clark Doerr, who works at Indian Hills Country Club.

On the other hand, sophomore Clayton Phillips, who works as a lifeguard at Round Hill Bath and Tennis Club, thinks the people are the what makes it worth it. Building friendships and making connections with not only other guards, but members of Round Hill, is what Phillips enjoys.

“Getting to work with friends and other cool people is the best part,” Phillips said.

Lifeguarding can go from sunbathing with a whistle to saving a life in a split second, and guards have to be ready. This is why they take a course where they get CPR certified and learn how to pull desperate people out of the water when they are in trouble.

“Always having to be focused and ready for the worst case scenario is probably the hardest part,” Phillips said.

Although some days, its only the staff that comes to the pool and there is nothing to do besides sit in the shed, Doerr and Phillips agree that it can be nice to have a relaxing work day with little to no people to monitor.

“[I also like] getting to relax a little on slow days,” Phillips said.

Nanny

In nannying the priority is to make sure the kids you’re watching behave.

Both freshman Riley McCullough and senior Sydney Bahr know the drill. For McCullough’s boys, it’s games first, homework second, then “screen time” and games again. It’s been like that for five years now.

Bahr’s routine is different every day, but she likes it like that and is ready for it.

“I think when you work [at a business] your day is somewhat scheduled,” Bahr said. “But when nannying you never know what the day is going to look life.”

McCullough and Bahr agree that the job can be fun and exciting, but that it also takes a lot of maturity. They both remember that kids copy what they see.

Keeping in mind the pleasure and relaxation of the job, they must also keep in mind the responsibility and maturity they should have.

“The responsibility is a lot different from normal jobs,” Bahr said. “While nannying I am responsible for humans and their lives which is kind of crazy.”

Learning something from a lighthearted kid is another one of McCullough’s favorite parts.

“They show me that you can mess up sometimes,” McCullough said. “And it doesn’t matter.”

Musician

Instead of having a stereotypical high school job, some students opt for a more unconventional job. Junior Charlie Jensen has an alternative job of singing at Potbelly Sandwich Shop on the Plaza. He works Saturdays, and will work more often starting in the summer.

Two or three days a week in the summer, he will sing with his acoustic guitar for two hours. He believes the job matches him well, as he’s played the guitar for years.

“I’ve been playing since fifth grade,” Jensen said. “So it’s something I really enjoy doing and the fact that I get to get paid to do it is awesome.”

Jensen is getting paid for doing what he loves. And even though his playing time is limited to two hours a day, the pay is worth it.

“I get 15 dollars an hour plus tips which is really nice,” Jensen said. “So I can go down and play for two hours and make pretty good money.”