With the school year ramping up, fall sports beginning, and summer jobs carrying into the school year, students have a lot to balance in the first couple weeks of school. Students Noah Layton, Lily Ziaja, and George Wolfe know this balance very well by now. Ranging from a Caribou barista to a professional painter, BSM students hold a variety of jobs throughout the summer and the school year.

Senior Noah Layton works at a local Caribou Coffee while balancing football practice and school work. During the school year, Layton only works on the weekend to adjust for school and his extracurricular activities. “My favorite part of my job is forming bonds with regular customers and knowing what to make them before they even walk through the door,” Layton said.

Being a Caribou employee comes with a lot of responsibilities. “I am required to know off of the top of my head how to make different, weird types of drinks such as a Macchiato which is shots and foam and Cappuccino which is shots, milk, and foam. Along with this I am required to clean the whole store when I am working closing shifts,” Layton said.

Senior Lily Ziaja works as a receptionist at Salon Intrigue in Minneapolis. As a receptionist, Ziaja is required to keep her cool while she is balancing cleaning the salon, doing laundry, selling products and booking customers’ appointments on the phone. However, it does have its perks. She is able to get her hair done for free and gets discounted hair products that they sell at the salon too. “I decided to apply for this job because I am a very social person and wanted to work with people,” Ziaja said.

Set apart from the rest, junior George Wolfe likes to get his hands (and clothes) dirty as a professional painter for a company named Paris Painting. Wolfe has a strong passion for painting and staining and is considered an expert at his craft. At the beginning of each shift, he waits for a notification on this phone that tells him where his job is and what he will be doing. He does a variety of jobs such as spray sideboards, stain decks, and touch up houses that have already been painted. “My favorite part of my job is being able to flex that I’m a painter. I love wearing my Paris Painting merch around,” Wolfe said.

Because he is a jack of all trades, he is able to do a variety of jobs with his partner in crime, senior Charlie Deterding. Both students were able to do their own landscaping jobs because of the skills that the have learned from painting. “Painting is one of those skills that will benefit me in the long run, I will always be able to paint,” Wolfe said.

Having a high school job has many perks that benefit the current employee and benefit their lives in the long run. Employees often receive discounts and other benefits with their jobs along with building skills that will last a lifetime. “My favorite part of my job is receiving a lot of free products from my salon and getting my hair done for free,” Ziaja said.