By Kennedy Werner

Whether it’s babysitting, landscaping, camp counseling, or car washing, the many
summer jobs of Walled Lake Central students create easy ways for them to make
money, meet new people, and spend their time.

These Oakland County teens find applying for June to August jobs a simple task, being
able to focus only on the job without the pressures of school.

“During the school year, I am constantly going to bed past midnight, trying to finish up
my homework after I get home from work at 6. I am looking forward to the summertime,
where I can come home without the stresses of homework,” said sophomore Alex Marx,
a Hiller’s Shopping Center employee.

Marx is one of many Central students employed at Hiller’s Shopping Center, but others
can be found working at Subway, day camps, pizzerias, landscape companies, waiters/
waitresses for Coney Island, or babysitting.

Having lots of free time and looking for commitment, Central teens find interest in
working at these types of places throughout the summer. They see the summertime as
a great opportunity to be involved in the real, mature world outside of high school.

“I think the best part of a summer job is the maturity. People rely on you for labor, it’s
like you’re officially an adult,” said Hallie Antoon, sophomore who babysits for families in
the area.

Besides Hallie’s point, another great part of being occupied with summer jobs is the
lesson of responsibility. The first step into the big world, for most people, is the money
that carries responsibility along with it and the question of “should I blow my money?” or
“should I save my money?”

Patty Werner, mother of two Walled Lake Central students, says that as soon as kids
get their first paycheck, from her perspective, they tend to spend all of it. But Patty
believes, from her experiences, that students with summer jobs will quickly learn the
responsibility and balance between saving and spending the earned money.

“They’ll catch onto the responsibility quickly,” she said.

So why are teens so keen on the idea of hard work in the summertime? All one hears
as they stroll Central’s halls are the eager voices of students ready for the summer to
begin, but only to work? Perhaps teens are anxious for money, perhaps it is the social
aspect, or “Because it’s fun. You interact with people way older than you, you learn new
things, [and] the way you have to portray yourself is completely different from school,
which I like,” said car wash employee, Matt Aldea, a sophomore.

As for the rest of Central without jobs, “pools,” said many, “boats,” and “sleep” as to how
they would spend the summer. Either way, working or not, students at Central are eager
for summer to appear, only 35 days away, and are working their way, little by little,

toward the finish line.