Summer is approaching (despite what the weather may show), and that means summer jobs are opening up for students everywhere. Student jobs are an important tool for teaching time management and responsibility.

Kayla Roiland
North Shore Gymnastics
“The gym is my life,” said senior Kayla Roiland said with a laugh, “I’ve done gymnastics at North Shore for years. My coaches recruited me [to work there] when I was 16, and I’ve been working there ever since.” Roiland coaches recreational classes and pre-team practices at North Shore, located in Maple Plain. She typically works around eight hours per week, but sometimes takes on more if a class needs a substitute. She said it can be hard going straight from school to work – “there’s no time to relax in between” – but “the kids always cheer me up, and I like watching them improve.” To be a coach requires knowledge of both how to do the skills she teaches and how to teach them to her gymnasts. “I take a lot of my ideas from my own coaches,” Roiland said. Though she can no longer do gymnastics due to arm and foot injuries, Roiland does her best to stay involved at the gym she loves.

Jack Ellis
Jack Ellis Photography
Besides a part-time job as a receptionist at Roger Fazendin Realtors in Wayzata, Jack Ellis is self-employed by his own photography company. He mostly takes senior pictures, and each job takes between eight to ten hours to shoot and edit the photographs. “Each photo takes anywhere between four and 15 minutes to edit, depending on the harshness of the lighting,” said Ellis. He said his favorite part of his job is working with people, but “the editing can get really tedious.” Time management is essential for his job as a photographer, especially with a second job and school mixed in. He said teen jobs are important because they teach responsibility and “start preparing you for the real world after high school.”

Tommy Sellers
Maple Plain Food Center
Many students work at Maple Plain Food Center (MPFC), including junior Tommy Sellers. He said his job includes working the cash register, carry-out, and stocking shelves. He said that scheduling his work there is flexible, and he works “one or two days [per week] right now because of baseball.” His job also includes people skills, because customers are often asking questions. “I like helping out people who need help finding things,” said Sellers. An important part of his job is “memorizing codes and knowing where things are” in order to help the customers to the best of his ability. He appreciates that his job is an opportunity to prepare for the real world.

Maddie Moore
Hollister, Arbor Lakes
“I was just shopping and the manager came up and asked if I wanted a job,” said senior Maddie Moore, describing how she came across her current job at Hollister. She works at the Arbor Lakes location, working the cash register, folding clothes, and helping customers find styles and sizes. “My favorite part is the people I work with,” said Moore.

Paige Broghammer
Volleyball Coach
An avid volleyball player for several years, junior Paige Broghammer now passes on her knowledge to a younger generation. “I coach practices and tournaments for 13-1 and 13-2 teams,” Broghammer said. “My coach contacted and asked me to.” Though most of her weekends are taken up because most of the practices are held on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and tournaments take all weekend, she loves “watching how much the kids improve and hanging out with the team.” Her own experience in volleyball is her most important asset for her job, she said, and her job has helped her learn “planning things responsibly.”