We have all heard the stories of work from our parents or grandparents — the horrendous hours, the treacherous terrain, the crazy colleagues, and the poor pay. Yet, jobs are still able to offer unique experiences and life lessons to those who have one. Our parents and grandparents are not the only ones who have stories of managing work and life — there are many Bishop’s students who are also employed, either during the school year, the summer, or both.
Bishop’s is located in the heart of La Jolla with a close proximity to a multitude of shops, cafés, and restaurants, making it the perfect place to find a job. Many jobs hire students 16 years old and older, with some jobs even hiring below the age of 16. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 14 years old is generally the minimum age of employment with more limited hours than minors 16 and older have.
Madison Gasaway (‘28) works during both the school year and summers at the front desk of the La Jolla High School Kogan Aquatics Center. As a swimmer herself, working at a pool feels close to home. She checks people in, typically waterpolo players or swimmers, and occasionally helps people start memberships. Her job entails about four hours of work after school, around 2 to 3 times a week. When asked about her job, Madison shared that overall, “my job is pretty chill.”
For the past two summers, Ayanna Hickey (‘26) has worked at Scoops, a local ice cream shop in La Jolla Shores. She said, “it was like hanging out with my friends and scooping some random ice cream here or there.”
A student with a more unconventional job at Bishop’s is Lisa Pan (‘26). Lisa is a working actress and model, and has been in the entertainment business since she was 10 years old, working with major production companies like Apple TV and Disney+. Lisa said, “It’s so beautiful that I get to work on something that I love, and that I’m passionate about.”
Across the variety of different jobs, there’s one thing in common between them: scheduling. Students must figure out how to schedule in their work hours between all their extracurriculars and academics, requiring them having to deal with their bosses. Madison remarked that her boss “wouldn’t post the schedule well,” sometimes forgetting to post it on time and accurately, and when the schedule did assign work, she said that she may have to work “every single day.” Ayanna had similar sentiments, saying, “the whole schedule thing was really weird because you wouldn’t get to choose your times.”
For Lisa, scheduling is continuously tricky and extremely different from other jobs as she has to always be ready for an audition to come through. “Acting is not one of those 9 to 5 jobs,” Lisa explained, “so you have to be prepared to have flexible hours.” This is one of the major factors students consider when applying for jobs and maintaining a balanced lifestyle.
A difficult part of working while in school is balancing your job with the mountains of homework assigned each night. Those only working summer jobs may not have to deal with this issue, but students who work during the school do. Penelope Fountain (‘26), who works at Hermosa Surf, a café and surf shop in Bird Rock, works weekdays after school, weekends, and in the summer. When talking about managing her busy days, Penelope said, “managing my time is definitely a little bit difficult because I don’t get home from work till seven and then I have to eat dinner and get ready for bed and all of that.”
As jobs take a significant amount of time out of a student’s days, students are forced to figure out other methods to manage their evergrowing workloads. To avoid being bombarded with massive amounts of work later in the night, Penelope said, “[I] usually try to do my schoolwork before work, so I don’t have to do it when I get home.” Another strategy is knocking out homework at work. Madison additionally mentioned that, “during my downtime, I’ll just do homework if we have a lag.”
While summer jobs stray clear of schoolwork overloads, they still run into their own problems. Julia Pawl (‘27) worked as a junior tennis coach at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club this summer, coaching summer camps for kids ages five through eight. While working 8-10 hour days in the summer, Monday through Friday, Julia also had other tasks to balance. “I was also studying for the SAT, so finding time to study for that was hard. Also finding time to hang out with friends and family and do what I wanted to do,” she said.
Although working students do see their free time diminish, jobs offer unforgettable experiences. Working provides students with a chance to get their foot in the door of the real world and also have a chance to provide for themselves, free of the grasp of their parents. Julia said, “I have always loved working with kids, so the experience of working with younger kids was great, but also getting an income was also a huge plus because now I have my own money that I get to spend without having to ask permission.” Madison expresses, “I don’t really need the money. I do it for the experience because I think I’ve gained more speaking confidence and feel more confident when I speak to people.”
For many students, jobs teach them a variety of skills that are otherwise hard to obtain, nurturing the independence that will eventually shape their lives. Lisa said, “I’ve been paying taxes since I was 12.”
Penelope noted, “You learn a lot of people and problem solving skills, and how to interact with people in a more professional setting.” Julia agreed with Penelope, and explained, “having a job teaches us a different type of work ethic outside of academics, learning how to socialize with people, those skills are super important.”
Jobs can place students in new settings where they’re responsible for themselves, and shown a different side of the workplace, being on the helping side rather than the receiving end, like Lisa, who remarked, “The main thing that a job has taught me is it’s given me a lot of exposure to the reality behind any industry or job market.”
Even with Bishop’s strenuous academic, athletic and arts curriculum, it is impressive to see so many students contribute to our community and represent Bishop’s with their hard work and dedication. These students all have great experiences to share with their own families one day!
