For many Seniors, the final year of high school is about college applications, Friday night games, the last Homecoming and Prom, and counting down until graduation. But for some Senior students, it also means clocking into work, whether it’s photography, social media marketing, retail, or dressing as a cow mascot. All jobs provide the opportunity to learn lessons that don’t come from a textbook while preparing students for the end of Senior year and the real world.
Lana Lewis, grade 12, balances two jobs as well as being a student. During the school week, she works retail at Calvin Klein at the Orlando International Premium Outlets typically on Tuesdays and either Saturday or Sunday. On weekend mornings from 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M., she steps into a cow costume and works as a mascot for Planet Smoothie. Balancing homework and shifts takes a lot of effort. “I make sure I complete my school work in school,” Lana said. With an easier work load during her last period, she tries to finis everything before the end of the day bell rings. She explained, “I just make sure that I don’t do anything outside of school.” However, she still admits it’s not always perfect because, “Sometimes I forget.”
For Lana, the hardest part isn’t always the workload; it’s missing out. “The most challenging part is when people have plans for the weekends, and I can’t go because I have work,” she stated. Lana added that dealing with management can be frustrating. “My manager is very difficult That’s hard,” she added. On a brighter note she added, “I handle it by just dealing with it.” Working in retail has also changed the way Lana views money. “When I go to buy Starbucks, it’s like, wow, that’s 30 minutes of working,” she highlighted. “My shoes are 60 bucks; that’s five hours of working. Five hours of dealing with people,” she explained. Despite the difficult challenges, there are moments that Lana genuinely enjoys. “I like when people are happy because of my help,” she stated. When she’s dancing in a costume as a cow mascot, she loves seeing customers laugh. Lana re-called, “I like when people dance with me. I like the interactions with strangers.” Like many other Seniors, her reasons for getting a job were very simple. “I wanted clothes or shoes, and my mom was like, ‘You have to work for it,”’ Lana pointed out.
Reily Green, grade 12, after school work life looks different. He works as a professional photographer and videographer in Central Florida, shooting three to four times a week. Between planning shoots, communicating with clients, and editing, he states that he is working almost every day. “There is not a day where I’m not on my computer,” Reily explained. This year, balancing school and work has become easier since he is only taking three classes. Because of this, Reily stated, “Recently it’s been a lot easier to manage my school work.” In the past, he would prioritize school over photography, which caused trouble in his work life. Now he follows a system that he built, explaining, “If I work on school for an hour, I work on my photography for an hour.” The biggest challenge for Reily is managing editing and assignments at the same time. “I really just want to focus on keeping things equal,” he said. He’s found that staying focused on homework and studying during the school day helps. “If I stay on top of my school work during school, it’s a lot easier,” Reily noted. Working as a photographer has taught him responsibility, especially financially. This is important as Reily pointed out that, “My field is super expensive, especially for a kid my age. I have to stay on top of my money and make sure I’m not blowing it.” Reily has worked with companies on advertisements and commercials, building client relationships that connect to his future interests. “Being young and starting my own business is really motivating,” Reily concluded.
Emily Cypher, grade 12, has also built a reputation behind the camera, starting with LHP’s own football team while managing their social media advertisements. From there, she expanded to LHP’s basketball and volleyball teams.“That’s kind of how I got started. I also do it on the side for people who aren’t on my team, and they pay me,” Emily stated. Unlike students who always try to put school first, Emily admits it’s not as simple for her. She explained, “Sometimes I put work before school. A paid job feels more real.” For her, letting down a client feels more serious than missing an assignment. Emily noted, “It’s more of a disappointment to clients if it’s not done, especially as a Senior.
Editing photos is what takes up most of Emily’s time. As she explained, “Editing a whole batch of photos from one game can take me anywhere from three to four hours.” With three or four games a week, that can quickly turn into nine or more hours of editing, not including outside clients. “It’s not that it’s hard,” she added. “It just takes a lot of time.” There have been moments when Emily had to step away from friends to meet deadlines. “There’s been times where I’ve been hanging out with my friends, and I’ve been like, ‘Oh, I’m going to have to edit photos,’” she said. When Emily first started, she didn’t even charge for her work adding, “I feel like most people start doing it for free.” But when a parent reached out asking for photos and highlight reels, and asked how much she charged, that changed for Emily. “They kind of forced me into getting people to start paying me,” Emily said. Now she has a clear standard. If she’s managing a team’s social media, content is included, but if she goes out of her way to shoot, payment is expected. Working has also changed how she views money. “It makes me not spend money as much,” she said. Now Emily compares spending money to the time she spent shooting and editing, observing that,“It puts things into perspective.” What she loves most is expressing her creative control. She shared that, “I love when I get to put them all together and pick the perfect song,” When describing the process of making highlight reels for teams. Emily summed it up best when she said, “It’s a form of creative expression. I feel like you get to see the game through my eyes. Getting to do that for other people is really cool for me.” For these Seniors, working during high school isn’t just about earning spending money. It’s about responsibility, independence, pressure, and learning how to manage real expectations even before they’ve left high school and venture into the realworld. That is a life lesson that money can’t buy.
