Despite the ongoing pandemic, many students work as well as attend classes in high school. Multiple student workers are essential workers, who risk their health to serve the community, and for which we are very grateful.
Senior Alex Alfaro found a job at Walmart during the summer of 2020, towards the end of the second surge. Walmart has put many safety measures in place for its employees. Employees are required to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart as much as possible. “Staying 6 feet apart is hard to maintain in a store like Walmart, but I do my best to keep away,” said Alfaro when asked about safety measures. One of the big drawbacks for him is the customers. Dealing with rude customers is almost an hourly occurrence, and this is of course due to the pandemic. When asked about customers in the store, Alfaro commented, “Customers are a lot rowdier and quick to anger due to COVID restrictions within the store.” When asked whether he will continue working at Walmart during the pandemic, Alfaro said, “I don’t even hope to continue here during the pandemic. The work and the coworkers aren’t bad, but the customers are terrible. I’d like to get a nicer job somewhere, but I’m grateful for the experience.”
As the summer arrives, many students will begin looking for jobs. One such location that usually hires many teenagers over the summer is Knott’s Berry Farm. During the summer of 2019, Senior Marcus Ledesma was hired by Knott’s to work during the summer. It is relatively simple, they only require the applicant must be 16 and have a work permit from the school. Ledesma decided to continue working, even after the summer ended, and is still there to this day. When asked about Knotts’ current safety precautions, Ledesma said, “…as far as safety precautions go every employee and guest have their temperature checked and must wear a mask.” He also commented on the strangeness of having no rides operational in the park, despite having the Boysenberry Festival going on. With the dwindling number of COVID cases and increasing levels of vaccination among the American public, many teens will look to find jobs this summer, to finally get out of the house after a year of lockdowns.