“There are no shortcuts to success.”-Annika Sorenstam.

As we all certainly know, college is not cheap.

A 2017-2018 study says that the average tuition in the U.S. average $20,770 for in state students.  If you are to travel out of state, it will cost a significant amount more.  For high school students who do not receive athletic or academic scholarships, it can be tough to pay such expenses.  In many cases students choose to get a part-time job to compensate for college funds.

Job possibilities are endless in high school.  You could choose to be a tutor, work in food service, or be part of a cleaning service just to name a few.  As I became more interested in this topic, I began to wonder what are some of the part-time jobs for students at Elder High School.  It was interesting to find out the different types of work and the local businesses who provide the opportunites.

Junior Sam Becker works at Ron’s Roost “as a cashier, busser, and disher. It is a fantastic place to be.  First off, the best part about the Roost is that everyone knows each other there.  A good chunk of the staff is from Elder and Seton, so every time I go to work I have someone to hang out with.  Apart from my coworkers in high school, the adult staff is just as great.  Everyone there is friends with each other, so even when things are slow you always have someone nearby.  I heard about the job from Aidan Murphy, and he got me an application over the summer.  I chose to work there because of all the great things I heard about Ron’s Roost.”

Ron’s Roost is located on the west side of Cincinnati and is a stand-alone restaurant that has been running since 1960.  They sell over 10,000 pieces of fried chicken each week and have received numerous awards over the years.  To keep customers coming back over and over again, Ron’s Roost has different live music come in monthly to play for those who are dining in.  This restaurant clearly adds some significant value to Elder and those on the west side.

Next, I got to talk to student Will Bode who is well known in the school for his participation in the Elder Marching Band.  Bode works at Elder after school with Hillgrove Cleaning Services.

“So, I heard about Hillgrove from my friend Jason Hericks. I was looking to start working and so Jason gave me a referral to Sean, the boss. From there, I talked to Sean and eventually was hired. I chose to apply at Hillgrove mainly because it sounded simple. We worked every day after school for 2-3 hours I was a freshman and getting a job was a big thing to me at the time. So, at Hillgrove, I clean Elder after school. My section is the entire second floor, so I clean all the rooms, get all the trash, wipe down the boards, and clean the bathrooms. Hillgrove is different from other jobs because you don’t have to drive anywhere, you just have to stay after school and overall, it is a nice and simple starting out job.”  The cleaning service has been in operation for 13 years or so and has been working with Elder for most of that time.

Finally, I interviewed Gabe Porter, another junior at Elder, who works at Bayley Place Nursing Home.  I asked him what makes his job stand out from others.

“I think it’s great how all of our coworkers get along so well, and the residents are entertaining to say the least. I heard about the job from my friend Mitchell Trotta who is a fellow student at elder, and right as I found out I was able to apply, I sent an application in. I chose to work here mostly because of convenience. The hours are perfect balance for school and anything else I might have going on,”  said Gabe.

It was great to hear about all the different types of jobs students come from and the history behind some of them.  All of the students I talked to can agree that “there are no shortcuts to success” and they are working hard now to help achieve their goals.