Working during quarantine

By Arei Swain, Intern

During quarantine, there have been many adjustments that students had to make, one of them being balancing a job and still taking care of their school work. Since quarantine has freed up some time, this has also meant that they’ve been able to work more hours without a true school day in place. 

Senior Kennedi Batts-Davis, who works at Hungry Howies, says that things have changed but not very much. She has been working there for about six months and things have been different since the Coronavirus outbreak.

When working the register she has to frequently wash her hands and keep her mask on at all times. 

“We have been doing curbside and deliveries too,” says Batts-Davis. She says that it is kind of difficult to deal with customers also while social distancing. “It has not changed that much, but there are obviously new guidelines we have to follow in order to stay safe.” 

Batts-Davis  has had time to complete schoolwork while also working more hours. 

“I have done okay balancing my school work and my job,” Batts-Davis says. 

 While Batts-Davis’  job has changed but only slightly, junior Sarah Shanley, who works at The Big Salad, says that her job has been a lot more stressful during the pandemic.

“People would probably think that we wouldn’t be as busy but we have been.”
Shanley says that it has been stressful to work with social distancing. Since The Big Salad is a salad bar with many choices to choose from, taking orders over the phone and curbside is harder than actually taking orders face-to-face. Shanley has been working there for about a year and she says that because of the COVID outbreak, it has been a challenge to work how she normally does. 

“It is hard to talk when we’re wearing a mask,” Shanley says.  

Her job has also cut into her school work as well. She has often had to push her school work back because of the hours she’s been working. 

The change of not having to be in school, but still having to be responsible for completing assignments while having what some may call “free time” all day, has been an interesting one, especially to those who have taken up jobs and more hours during quarantine. 

“I’ve been having to push my school work because I’ll work during the school day and I’m usually tired when I get home,” Shanley says.