As the bell rang, signaling the end of Block 4, the hallways flooded as students made a beeline toward the exits to get to their extracurriculars, athletics, or homes. For some students like junior Isa Arranz, she heads to her job at Twelve Tone Music School as an administrative assistant.
High school is already filled with responsibilities: homework, studying, extracurriculars, and much more, Arranz said. Being a student with the added responsibility of a job, Arranz has learned how to balance both her academics and work. Arranz does so by making sure that her schedule does not collide with school commitments, she explained.
“My one consistent day that [I work is] Saturdays because [that day] I don’t have school,” Arranz said. “If I have a club after school, I can go to that [and] I can still have time to go to work.”
Sophomore Margarita Dimalanta works as a swim instructor at the Glenview Park District. Due to the time crunch that her job has created, Dimalanta had to learn to organize her time efficiently to be able to fit all of her studying and assignments between her after-school job, she explained. So, she created a schedule for her homework and study time.
“Some of my classes are harder than the others,” Dimalanta said. “So, I focus on the harder ones before [I start] work and the easier ones after work. I [also] try as hard as I can to squeeze in studying time during my breaks.”
Just like Arranz and Dimalanta, junior Olivia Brody also juggles school with a job: being a supervisor at Blended Health and
Smoothie Bar. Being a student-athlete, Brody has to adjust her work schedule to manage her sport and school, she said.
“Sometimes [balancing school and work is hard] because I just want a day where I can sleep in because Sunday’s my only free day [from basketball], and now it’s taken up with work,” Brody said.
Brody tries to remain calm amidst the chaos of trying to balance schoolwork and homework, she said. She had to learn to control her mindset to prevent herself from becoming too overburdened, she explained.
“Everything will work itself out,” Brody said. “I tend to stress over things, [but I reassure myself that] it will all be worked out.”
