Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many employees across the country have been forced to stop working or start working from home. Students at Benilde-St. Margaret’s with jobs have also been hit hard by the outbreak. Of the 48 students surveyed, 81.3% had a job before quarantine, but only 23.4% are still working.

For many students, the temporary loss of a job has been stressful. The day before junior Maya Jones was supposed to go back to work at Velocity Ice Rink as a hockey referee, it was shut down. “While I don’t really mind not working, I do miss earning money…not being able to get paid during this time has been stressful,” Jones said.

The lack of income has also been stressful for senior Cooper Hanson. He worked as a Junior Network Administrator at Heartland America until his last day in the office, March 25. Although Hanson will continue working for Heartland America once the offices are back and running again, as of now, he has no income. He’s had to put his new car search on hold, meaning he won’t have a vehicle for a while either. “It’s very stressful to only have money leaving my bank account,” Hanson said.

Another student who has found herself without a job is senior Kelly Dempsey. She worked at her church doing childcare two days a week. Dempsey is a little worried about not making an income, but she misses the kids the most. “The saddest part about…[not working]…is that I don’t get to see my kids,” Dempsey said.

Not all students find themselves unemployed during the stay-at-home order, however. Sophomore Joseph Flachman is continuing to work during quarantine, something that he enjoys more than being stuck at home. He works at Home Depot and is happy to be making an income. Flachman has been taking advantage of extended online school and has been using some of his extra time during the day to work. “It’s awesome…[because]…I can just work…full weeks since we don’t have school,” Flachman said.