Many students depart from school to then begin an evening shift somewhere. Such employment in high school provides students the opportunity to learn time management, budgeting, and the importance of being able to communicate with adults and coworkers they wouldn’t otherwise be in contact with. The downside of working a part-time after-school job is that working 15-20 hours a week can decrease academic performance. Junior Vittorio Causarano, works at the Music Shoppe as a Luthier, a person who does intensive repairs on orchestra instruments, and in some cases makes them.
“Currently I am doing most of the Music Shoppes repairs with my supervisor, going from taking down instruments to gluing entire sections of instruments back on,” Causarano said.
In his role, he is specialized, which causes him to work mixed up hours when he is needed instead of a regularly based schedule.
“I make the bridges for any of those instruments that need it,” Causarano said. “My specialties extend further than the Violin and Viola, as I’ve worked on the Cello and Bass countless times. I have even seen, and worked on some ‘exotic’ instruments, such as the Indian Sitar, figuring out how to repair it.”
Junior Percy Morgan works as a counselor in training at Timber Pointe Outdoor Center [a summer camp for people with disabilities]. They started this job last summer and will be there this summer as well.
“One of my favorite parts is the connections I get to make with campers, whether they’re 5 or 32,” Morgan said. “I love meeting them and getting to know them. The worst part is probably the late nights because it takes us a lot of time after campers are asleep to set up activities, but it’s worth it to see how much everyone enjoys it.”
Senior Sophia Whiteaker works at the Bloomington Ice Center where she coaches youth hockey players from ages 4-18 years old.
“The main thing I do at my job is teach how to play hockey in classes, those groups are usually much younger kids who are learning the basics,” Whiteaker said. “One thing I love about my job is getting to see the improvement from kids in a short period of time.”
From Causarano’s instrumental repairs at the Music Shoppe to Morgan’sheartfelt connections at Timber Pointe Outdoor Center and Whiteaker’s dedication to coaching young hockey players, these students are making a meaningful impact in their communities while preparing themselves for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
