By: Sarah Yi — Editor-in-Chief

As summer is fast approaching, many high school students are in search of jobs to earn money and gain valuable experiences. Many Sharon high school students currently have jobs that they will be continuing through the summer while others seek to find new ones. With more time on their hands, students are able to dedicate their schedules to work. 

On Friday, June 4th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of 16 to 19-year-olds who work rose to 33.2%, which was the highest rate since 2008. An economist at the job site Indeed.com says openings overall were up 27% since pre-pandemic levels. 

Junior Zoe Kahle says she will be a lifeguard at Continental Pools in Canton. She says she will be working four to five days a week, about six to seven hours a day. She says she will be working thirty hours a week this summer instead of forty hours like last summer. 

“If I work morning shifts and get out by 4 pm to hang out with friends. If I am given a more inconvenient shift such as 9:30 am to 5 pm, then it takes away my day,” said Kahle. 

Kahle says she had another position at Panera but hated it there so she looked online and applied on indeed.com in May, and had an interview within the next week. “The initial hiring process was easy but after that, there was not much guidance making it harder and confusing,” Kahle added.

She says that lifeguarding is a very good summer job for teenagers and Panera was too chaotic and fast-paced for her liking. Kahle says she was very stressed there and ended to find a more “chill” job.

“I am excited to work here because it will be more relaxing than my other job but I am nervous about the responsibilities this job entails,” she said. Kahle adds that she is very excited to learn CPR, first aid, etc.

Junior Maddie Snyder says she will be working at College Gate/College Academy this summer from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. She says she will still have time in the afternoon and the weekends to have fun and spend time with family and friends.

“I applied in February and it was easy because I was a CIT two summers ago and was supposed to be a counselor last summer before the camp got canceled due to COVID,” said Snyder.

Snyder says she chose to work at this camp because she went to camp there when she was younger and enjoyed all the programs and activities she did. “I also am able to teach sculpture this summer and I am excited to be able to work with the kids on my own,” she added.

“I think this year they had some trouble finding staff for this summer especially with fewer college students working from their hometowns, so they hired more high school students to be counselors and instructors,” Synder said.

Junior Erica Schoen says that this summer she will be working at the Mansfield YMCA Theatre Camp. Schoen says she will work for five weeks from 8:30 am to around 4:30 pm. “I have a long break in between the two sessions and I have time to myself every weekend and after camp,” she said.

“I started doing prospective intern work my freshman year in preparation for an internship, which I worked all of sophomore year. I applied for a paid position before my junior year,” Schoen added. She says the application process was really easy for her because he had already had experience in the program and the “job interview” was mostly done through the internships.

“I’ve been going to camp there for a long time, as well as doing school year shows. It’s a closed hiring process, and because I was so involved in the program it was a good opportunity,” said Schoen.

She says she is very excited about this job because she loves working with kids and camp is her favorite part of her job. “It’s very familiar to me, and I’ve known all of the staff forever, so it feels like more fun than work at times,” Schoen added.

Snyder also says that she is very excited because she loves working with kids and will finally be able to create lessons and teach them independently.

“I’m hoping to learn more independence and initiative with this job because as I get older, I’m given increased amounts of responsibility,” said Schoen.