With the school year coming to a close, Saint Viator students have already started their quest for a summer job. Whether as a summer pastime activity, a way to help with the impending college bills or an attempt to earn some extra spending money, students lock down their positions in a variety of internships and job opportunities.

Some students will resume their seasonal job that they held last summer or continue with the work they did throughout the school year.

Junior Sean O’Grady will continue his work as a caddy at Rolling Green Country Club just as he did last summer. According to him, he finds joy in associating with his co-workers, who are mostly high school and college students.

“It is not hard to balance work and social life because I pick my hours,” O’Grady said.

He had to complete three days of basic training in preparation for his job.

Junior Rachel Varvara will finish up the internship she attained through Saint Viator at Lavelle Law LTD. The company was in need of high school students in order to complete the tedious project of scanning all their documents onto computers. They also needed help sending advertisements to prospective clients. In order to complete the required 240 hours for the internship, Varvara worked a few days each week during the school year for two to four hours a day.

“I want to be a human rights lawyer,” said Varvara. “[This opportunity] is good exposure to how a law firm works and getting connections.”

Junior Carolina Matuk recently acquired a job at Chick-fil-A and had to complete basic training for her position by following around a co-worker who taught her what to do. She described the long-term struggle of finding a job, which took her about half a year to find.

“I take food from the kitchen to the table at Durty Nelly’s,” said junior Ethan Deyhle. “I wanted to get a job to help pay for college.”

Returning to her job as a lifeguard at the Barrington Park District, junior Shannon Roney looks forward to spending time with her co-workers and getting a nice tan. Roney said she learns and practices lifesaving techniques and skills, such as CPR, every Saturday before the pool opens. Though already an exemplary swimmer from swimming on her employer’s swim team, Roney enjoys improving her skills and taking on more responsibility.

“When I teach swimming lessons, I end up being at the pool from 7 in the morning until 8 at night,” said Roney.

The hope of earning a little extra cash and forming close friendships with co-workers is looking very promising for Saint Viator students.