Hiram Johnson Student, age 18
“No complaining, no whining, and no excuses,” is a motto Hiram w. Johnson High School’s JROTC instructor, Sergeant Rost, always tells his students to follow. Many high school students think that school is hard enough for them, but that is not the case when they are employed and have to go to school at the same time. According to a school wide survey, roughly 30% of high school students are employed and are still determined to go to school and graduate on time. Most of these students also plan to go on and further education.
High school students who are employed should be acknowledged for the extra work they do, whether it’s just being at work or just at school. Many can tell that the students who find a job while attending high school are the most likely to succeed in life.
Consider this; if you’re working and are completing your school assignments on time, you are already prepared for the real world and the next phase in your life, college. Just knowing that you have a job to go to and after coming back from work, you have to do your homework, you are already holding your priorities to a high standard.
When asking a high school alumni, Mai Vang, about how she balanced her school and work schedule back in high school, she said “It was hard. I worked at the local burger shop near the school, and everyday after school I would have to rush over there and start my night shift. I worked from 4 pm to closing. Then I would usually stay after to clean and that’s another hour or so. Every night when I get home I would have to stay up until 1am doing homework, then wake up at 7:30am the next morning. And I was still manage to get A’s and B’s on my report card.”
As Vang has done in her high school days, many other high school students are also experiencing the same. Without complaining, whining, and or making excuses, she was able to finish her high school schooling on time and kept her part time job at the same time upon graduation.