After graduation, many seniors’ next big step is college, but it's a big price tag that they’ll have to save up for. Some seniors decide to do nothing and just hang out with their friends all summer, but the seniors this year are deciding to work and save money for college. They have already earned some money through scholarships and grants from the colleges they plan on attending.
Levi Groom plans on working full-time in the summer at either Skyline Homes in Lancaster, WI, or at the Amazon Warehouse in Dubuque, IA. He currently works at Holiday Gardens Event Center in Potosi, WI, a job he plans to keep once he gets a summer job. He wants to use the job he gets in the summer as a summer job that he’ll pick up every summer in college, and keep the Holiday Gardens job to earn money throughout the year. He is attending UW-Platteville next fall and plans on majoring in mechanical engineering. UWP’s tuition is $15,384, which is a lot of money to pay per year, but can become more manageable with scholarships and a job.
Levi is working this summer because he needs to pay for college and he needs money for a new car. His current car is a 2003 Buick Park Avenue, and he plans to buy a car that is around 2010 or later. He doesn’t want too new of a car as those will be too expensive for him. Buying a new car will add a hefty amount of money to what he has to pay, which includes college. He has earned a $6,000 scholarship through four years, which is $750 per semester. This will help pay for some of his college tuition.
Over the summer, he isn’t going on vacation and he is strictly working. He isn’t preparing or learning by getting this job over the summer for his major in college. That isn't necessarily all that bad because he is still going to be working and making money for college to pay for his major.
Another senior who plans on going to UW-Platteville and is going to get a job in the summer is Logan Uppena. He plans on working a full time job over the summer even though he doesn’t know where he wants to work yet. He is attending UW-Platteville to major in biology. He currently has a part time job at Holiday Gardens Event Center and he wants to keep that job when he gets a summer job, just like Levi. This job is going to provide him with the money to pay for some of his college tuition. That isn’t the only thing that this job will provide though. “It is something to keep me busy during the summer, so I don’t get too bored over the summer,” Logan explains. This is another reason to get a job over the summer because you will have more fun over the summer and build up some money for college. You can also get some work experience that you may have previously never had which, is a good thing to put on your resumé.
Logan has also gotten some money in scholarships including a $6,000 scholarship through four years, which is $750 per semester that he has earned. He plans on going on a vacation this summer, but doesn’t know when or where yet. He wants to get a routine down before he goes to college to prepare him for that next big step. He would also like to do a few job shadows over the summer to better prepare him for his major and learn more about it.
Natalie Edge is a senior who is also planning to work like Levi and Logan but she is going to attend UW-LaCrosse this fall. The tuition at UW-LaCrosse is $16,348 which is a little bit more than UWP per year, but not much more. Natalie is going to major in marketing at UWL, because she wants to be a real estate agent. She is currently working at Holiday Gardens Event Center and Katinas Kitchen in Dickeyville, WI. She has been working these jobs all throughout high school, so she has built up a good amount of money for college. This summer she is planning on working at Catfish Charlie’s in Dubuque, IA. She won’t be getting a job that helps her with her major, even though she has mentioned, “I’m going to look into a job shadowing somebody that is in the real estate business.” She won’t just be saving the money for college, but everyday expenses or little purchases that she decides to make. She is going to go up north with her family on vacation this summer.
Having a job over the summer doesn't mean you’ll have to work every day of the week and weekends, but you can take a vacation in the summer and have some fun with friends and family as is the case with Natalie and Logan. She is also preparing for college and her major over the summer by going on a more in-depth college visit where she can meet her professors and learn more about her major and classes she will need to take. Seniors who are not willing to do a little extra to learn about classes, majors, work experience, and preparation are going to be met with difficulties down the road.
One of the main difficulties can be money because of the lack of effort put forward to gain money and actually use their time this summer effectively. This is not the feeling I get with this senior class because of the work ethic that they have. This year's senior class is always determined to do their best work in and out of school. Many seniors in this class are going to get a job this summer to save up for college, which is a huge testament to the work ethic of this senior class.