Many Miami High students have jobs and go to school. Senior Jordan Daneker works at a construction site 10 hours per week. Junior Jeffrey Zepeda works at Milam’s Grocery Store as a cashier 30 hours per week. Junior Janet Zapata works at Wendy’s 30 hours per week.

Many students say that they can handle the job and their school. Senior Aaron Reyes, who works at Zuke Kitchen, said, “I manage my time well. I do homework everyday when they assign it, and then I go to work, come back, and finish my homework.” Senior Jose Aponte, who works at Publix as a cashier, said, “At first it was hard to handle both, but I learned to manage my time.”

Going to school and having a job doesn’t always work out for everyone. Sophomore Ashley Alonzo, who works at Domino’s, said, “Sometimes I don’t want to do homework when I get home because I’m so tired from work.” Sophomore Kristyn Morales, who works at Burger King, said, “I’m so tired from work that I fall asleep in class and I can’t focus.”

Kids who work also don’t have a lot of free time. Aaron Reyes said that he is late to places and barely has time for himself or his family. Fernando Ramirez, who works in construction, said, “I can’t go out whenever I want because of my messy schedule.”

Why do students need a job? Fernando Ramirez works because he wants to make money to buy his own things and learn to be responsible. Junior Robert Ross, who works as a life guard, doesn’t like asking his parents for money. Janette Zapata said, “It’s a good thing to get prepared for the real world.”

Many students get their jobs through a friend. That’s how Jeffrey Zepeda got his job at Milam’s Grocery Store and junior Jonathan Mejia got his job in a networking company.