Work Study is an opportunity for students to experience work and the real world before high school ends. Some students go for internships, others go for minimum wage jobs such as pizzarias, daycare, and other forms of retail. Some students even take it up to gain experience in the field they want to work in as a career.

But what happens when they realize they not only have work, but they need to still do their school work as well? That’s when stress begins to take over.

Mrs. Amanda McGrew, the Work Study advisor, was asked when she feels the stress has become too much for students: “When a student is poorly planned. Time management is key to successful work study experience. Students have to plan their work schedule accordingly to properly meet their academic needs.”

When asked where the line is drawn for stress between work and school, Mrs.McGrew states, “School comes first!” 

She adds on, “[The student and I] will develop a plan and meet with the employer to reduce stress on the student. Worst case scenario is a student gets withdrawn from the program.”

Daniel LaRocca, a senior at Oakdale, was asked what he does when he feels stress tugging at him.: “I like to take a step back, and come back at a later time and try whatever I’m doing again.”

LaRocca goes on to describe where he works. “Currently I’m working at a carwash. But on the 11th, I’ll start my new job as an apprentice electrician with a company called Lumen Brothers.”

LaRocca is one of the Work Study students who work towards their career path in life. He explained, “I decided I wanted to do Work Study because I’m able to start working toward my Journeyman license.”

Sometimes, stress can be too hard on a student and they fall behind not only in schoolwork, but also in their workplace. This can lead to them getting a bad review on their employee evaluation. Mrs.McGrew voiced that it hasn’t happened yet, which is a good sign, but she mentions what would happen if they should.

“I speak with the student immediately. I ask them how they believe work is going. We talk about their work experiences and work life; and work balance. Then I tell them specifically what their employer said about them, then we devise a plan to have a better work experience.”

As stated before, Ms.McGrew hasn’t had a problem with bad employee reviews yet. When asked about how she feels the students are doing, she declared, “Overall, they do very well. Many perform well academically, and their mentors speak highly of them.”