THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408120274
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: BY XIAOHONG ZHANG SWAIN, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
NOT ALL Chesapeake high school students spend summer vacation taking life easy. Some take summer jobs to earn spending money and gain employment experience.
Seventeen-year-old Selena Bigley, for example, is working at a summer job for the third consecutive year. Last summer, the rising senior at Great Bridge High worked at McDonald's on Battlefield Boulevard. Through her junior year, she worked at Burger King, located in the same area. This summer, Bigley became an employee at Dairy Queen at 200 Battlefield Boulevard South.
``I like the people here,'' said Bigley with a pleasing smile. ``You can talk to them about everything. They're nice.''
Bigley was introduced to the popular ice cream place by her friend Courtney Brock, a rising junior at Great Bridge, who also works at the Dairy Queen.
Bigley enjoys the financial independence a summer job provides. Besides paying automobile insurance and clothing, she is saving money to get a new car.
Nancy Fermil, the store's manager, said she currently uses 11 teenage workers. Seven of the teenagers are still in high school, she said, while four others have just graduated.
``We tend to stay with teenagers,'' Fermil explained. ``An older worker can wear out soon. But the teenagers, they have their youth.''
Fermil said that sometimes teenage workers need to be pushed a bit by an adult supervisor. But overall, she said, they are hard-working and honest.
Charmayne Lanier, 17, a student at Western Branch High School, has been an office worker for two years. She worked as an assistant secretary for Western Branch Middle School and Portsmouth Orthopedics. Soon after she graduated from Western Branch High in June this year, she was hired as an assistant to work at the school's main office.
One important experience Lanier has gained is to have patience with difficult people.
``Some people blow up for no good reasons,'' Lanier said. ``But I make it through. I always apologize. It's not my job to get an attitude.''
In the fall, Lanier is going to attend Tidewater Community College to prepare herself for Alabama University in January.
``I have signed up for work study on campus at TCC,'' she said.
Summer Carroll, 18, a senior at Churchland High School, has both summer school and work on her hands this summer. She admits it's not fun to get up early daily to go to classes. But she needs to take the English and government courses to graduate, she said.
Carroll chose to go to summer school at Western Branch High so she can get out of school an hour earlier than going to Churchland High. The spare time allows her to get to work on time in Portsmouth.
Working as a waitress at a restaurant every evening, Carroll studies after 10 p.m.
``It's hard,'' Carroll said. ``But it's something that's got to be done.''
Tasha Gibbs, 16, a rising senior at Oscar Smith High, has a similar double-duty summer. In the middle of moving to its new site, Oscar Smith High students have their summer school at Indian River Middle School. Gibbs is in the summer school, taking a course in government while she works at Roses on Military Highway.
Gibbs said that there is so much to do, she has to plan her schedule day by day. But she never loses her sight of the order of priorities.
``I put my school first,'' she said, ``my job second, then time to myself.''
Traci Skyles, 15, a rising junior at Indian River High School, also attends summer school at Indian River Middle. She works mostly on weekends at Hollywood Hairstyle in Norfolk. She started the part-time job in November 1993, and she hopes to keep it as long as possible.
``I'm saving money for things that I want to do later,'' she said. ``Mostly, I'm saving money for college.''
Though she enjoys hairstyling, Skyles said her college major will be in music. While in college, she said, her part-time hobby will be working at beauty shops.
Shawntee Stewart, 16, a rising sophomore at Great Bridge High, feels blessed for being chosen by the school's summer youth training program to assist at the main office.
``The job makes me feel comfortable and important,'' Stewart said. ``It makes me feel that I can help someone.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Selena Bigley works at Dairy Queen on Battlefield Boulevard. Bigley
enjoys the financial independence a summer job provides.
by CNB