Many older high school students have a job in order to earn money for themselves. That number has dropped drastically since the coronavirus has caused some businesses to close. Although some high school students have been able to keep their normal job, some have not. Even the kids who have been able to keep their jobs have major changes in their workplace as safety precautions to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Natalie Orebaugh, a senior at Godwin, has worked for the John Rolfe Animal Hospital since she was a sophomore. Luckily, she has been able to keep her job during this pandemic, working 15-20 hours a week. She assists the veterinarians and restrains, feeds, and gives medication to the animals. In order to minimize interactions with other people, she speaks virtually to pet owners and has to get the animals out of the car instead of having the owners come into the hospital.
James Lesniak, another senior at Godwin, has worked for Papa John’s for five months. He makes pizzas, takes orders, and folds boxes. The good thing about Lesniak’s job is that there have only been minor changes. He now has to wear a mask, put quality seals on the boxes, and all orders have to be picked up outside the store. He was able to keep working during the pandemic because of some restaurants being allowed to stay open with restrictions. Since he does not have to go to school anymore, he can now spend more time working, usually for about 15 hours a week.
Rachel Kaplan, a senior at Godwin, has worked for DoorDash, since the beginning of quarantine. She picks up food and delivers it all over the Richmond area. Her job consists of only minor changes, due to the virus, including wearing a mask when she goes to pick up food and dropping the food off on the person’s porch, instead of directly handing it to them. She used to work for Awful Arthurs, but since no one is allowed inside, she had to find a new job, which was DoorDash. She works for around ten-15 hours a week.
These three high school kids have been through a lot in just around half a year. They either went from having a normal job, to having to change jobs or to having extra precautions for their job. Through all this pandemic to see how many changes in the normal lifestyle is really eye opening. When a lot of teens would’ve quit in this situation this teens persevered and stayed
