Co-op Students Working Hard to Balance Time and Money

Presented with a new opportunity, many students took advantage of the co-op program to break up their year between education and occupation.

BY KEELIN DAVIS

There is a fine line between balance and imbalance, it just depends on how you distribute the weight.

Entering their final year, seniors are offered the ability to co-op which allows students to split their day between classes and work.

Many students take advantage of this program with the occupation of their choosing. Balancing work and school has become a new challenge for the seniors to face but many find it beneficial and essential to getting the most out of their senior year. There are a variety of jobs that students have chosen based on pay, coworkers or benefits.

The co-op program was started by Teacher Kyle Downs and has helped students make better use of their time as a senior. Students are able to make some more money to spend or save while not taking up their whole day after the 2:10 p.m. bell rings. Downs saw a need for this program and had it implemented soon enough.

With a split between the remaining required classes and work time, students must learn new time management and workload management skills. “I feel like I have learned a lot from this year, I have developed a better work ethic after balancing school, Dunkin’ and baseball right after,” senior Dunkin’ employee Emory Barnhouse said. This balance, though, does not come without its struggles. “Trying to do homework after I get off can be tough but I have tried my best and I know it’s helping me,” senior Bluegrass Academy Teacher Carly Wooten said.

Most co-op students see the freedom as a privilege and feel lucky to have this program available during their final year of high school. “To be able to pay for my college during school hours has been great,” senior UPS worker Ethan Taipalus said. UPS has risen as a very popular co-op job due to their tuition payments to those who attend the University of Louisville.

Another popular co-op destination is Dunkin’. In the last two years the store has been open, many senior students have gravitated towards the store for reliability, location and the coworkers. “Everyone here knows each other so it makes everything go by much smoother. We are all friends and it’s good that we all get the chance to work together,” senior Eli Cox said. In the year that he has worked there, Cox has received a promotion to assistant manager.

On the childcare side of things, Bluegrass Academy has drawn a lot of co-op students looking into teaching and child development as a career. At the academy, workers are assigned to their own classrooms with other teachers, cook and prepare meals for kids and keep up with laundry and bedding. “I wouldn’t have taken this job if I wasn’t in the child development pathway. It opened me up to what I love and these kids have been so good to me. My senior year would not be the same if it wasn’t for the joy they bring me,” Wooten said. The skills these workers learn are crucial for the future in childcare.

Local businesses have also grown to be a hotspot for co-op locations. Senior Tyler Wheatley has worked at Erie Insurance for over a year now and has gained experience valuable to his future. “This has all worked out perfectly. Being able to shadow in the insurance field made me realize this is what I wanted to do even more,” Wheatley said. The job also varies with yard care as well, adding variety to his responsibilities.

Eastside Blends, a growing local business, is home to senior Riley Gentry. For her co-op time, she makes protein shakes, energy teas and protein donuts to serve the community. She learns valuable customer service skills while working manageable hours in a stress-free environment.

The variety that this opportunity offers suits every situation of students. Whether they want to shadow a potential career for their future, or work with their friends at a local fast food joint, students have the freedom to do what they choose as long as they meet the hour requirements and get their advisor’s signature.

Overall, the co-op program has played a massive role in the senior years of students. They are able to make money doing what they love during school hours and the opportunities have opened many doors for the future of their lives.

Working to resolve an issue that a customer pointed out, seniors Lucas Monroe, Eli Cox and Ethan Haddaway converse with one another. The three of them work together everyday at 11:30 a.m. to serve customers and handle the upkeep of Dunkin’. “Dunkin’ has been good because I get to be with my friends and make money at the same time,” Monroe said.

Blowing the grass he had just cut, senior Tyler Wheatley walks the driveway of Erie Insurance. He has worked at Erie for a little over a year and got the job to dive deeper into the insurance industry to better prepare him for his future. “The experience I am getting here is very unique, some days I work directly with customers and their insurance and other days, I cut and blow the grass,” Wheatley said.

Ringing a customer up, senior Riley Gentry completes an order. She began working at Eastside Blends this year and loves the community element that plays into the job. “Working for a small business and getting to be a big part of this community is what makes the job great for me,” Gentry said.

Editing a social media post for a local business, senior Blake Harlamert uses Photoshop to get the job done. Harlamert is a member of the Media Internship co-op which works closely with local businesses to create marketing strategies and campaigns. “Getting to be this hands-on with other businesses and the advertising side of things has been more beneficial than most things I have done in school before,” Harlamert said.