On top of piles of school work and extracurricular activities, many Pace students are occupied with a wide array of jobs. While earning wages, these students simultaneously gain valuable work experience that will benefit them in the future.
With a four-hour shift three days a week, senior Conor Hartman tutors preschool to elementary-aged kids in math and assists them with their homework and arithmetic education. “My tutoring job is worth the big time commitment,” said Hartman. “I love working with little kids and this job gives me a break from my own math homework to help these kids with their simpler math concepts.”
Others stray from school-related jobs and instead gain experience in sales. As a stylist at a women’s fashion boutique, junior Tanner Walton embraces her job at Impeccable Pig and appreciates the valuable work insight she is receiving. “Working at a boutique is a lot more tedious than you think,” said Walton. “It takes a lot of welcomes and ‘can I put that in a fitting room for you?’ but it’s fun working alongside my friends.”
Having just opened in January 2018, Burn Studios, a hip fitness studio with locations in Buckhead and Brookhaven, has gained popularity among a group of Pace seniors as a viable work location. Offering classes in cycle, kickboxing and yoga, Burn tasks its employees with checking clients in and out, setting up for different classes and cleaning up after each class ends.
When he’s not on the baseball field, senior Darian Howard spends much of his time in the upbeat fitness studio, preparing kickboxing bags and adjusting different bicycles for clients. “I like it because it’s a very chill environment,” said Howard. “The staff you work with is always fun and not an overwhelming amount is asked from you while you’re still making decent money.” His coworkers include seniors Holland Carlton, Leah Mautner, Ross Oglesby and Billy Snyder.
Among the diverse jobs held by Pace students, senior Ben Solomon’s job as a “Bird Catcher” distinguishes him from his working peers. A company called “Bird,” which supplies electric scooters for rental, has become increasingly popular. The Bird catchers bring the scooters back to their charging stations from wherever they were left on the streets of Atlanta.
“The first thing that drew me to the company was money,” said Solomon. “The second was convenience. It is the easiest way to make money in Atlanta and as a tech guy, I like involving myself in the technology industry as much as possible. The only thing that would make my job better is if I got paid in Bitcoin.” Solomon works alongside senior Jack Thomson and together, they collect around 13 scooters per trip.
With busy schedules throughout the school year, a number of students prefer summer jobs to split their time more evenly. This past summer, senior Chase Karamanolis, along with classmates Joe Hirsch, Tase Karamanolis and Andrew Ladden, rolled ice cream at Sweet Charlie’s. “It was a great experience to have a real job,” said Chase. “It’s hard to fit that into my year-round schedule with football and school, so working during the summer was definitely a good decision.”
Other Pace students work at Frutta Bowls, a healthy foods eatery; Play it Again, a sporting good store; the neighborhood Chick-fil-A and even Six Flags. In the classroom, Pace students are known to work hard, but beyond the classroom, Pace students work even harder.