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Highlands Today

Summer Vocation

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: June 14, 2008

SEBRING — It's a typical hot, muggy summer afternoon Wednesday, and Maxime Copley is at the YMCA's swimming pool on lifeguard duty. She always had the 21 hours a week to do watch over the kids splashing about, but with school out, the rising Sebring High School senior now does a noon shift.

The next morning, she walks into the workout room at the high school. "I'm really busy with sports," she said earlier. Copley might join her church group for a mission in Mississippi as well.

Yes, Copley's busy, but her summer's not that much more hectic than the average student. Whether they need to shape up, fix up or earn enough so they can do all of the above, high school students aren't letting up even when the textbooks are shelved.

Work, Play And Gas Money

Those that happen to have jobs wonder if they're lucky.

Chris Grubb, 17, began working at the Sweetbay at Sebring last week. He said he knew store manager Don Strickland from his basketball practices, and he thought that helped him get his job taking care of the shopping carts in the parking lot.

He had no problem finding a job last summer at Outback, and he held on to it until Christmas. Still, he thought his friends had a tougher time finding work.

"They're trying to," he said, but there are "just not many hiring."

Strickland said his store hires fewer students during the summer than during the fall and winter because the business is slower around now, partially because the snow birds are not around. Paradoxically, fewer students have the time to work when the extra cashier and bagging jobs are there.

Mike Martino, the YMCA's executive director, said that he actually had several more positions available this summer, but that was mostly because of the new swimming pool. Coordinator Greg Smith said he received 40 applicants for its new aquatics department, two thirds of them coming from high schoolers.

Javarius Sanders just started looking. The wide receiver for Sebring's football team said he spent all Monday filling out applications after his morning workout. Of the four places he applied to, a marketing company called him back by Thursday.

He may not have one yet, but Sanders didn't think jobs were scarce. "Most of us have jobs already," he said.

The rising gas costs changed the dynamics though this summer.

Samantha Miller, 17, who works one of the other pools at the YMCA along with Copley, decided to take the lifeguard job at $8 an hour instead of a $9.50-per-hour position doing the same thing at Sebring. As she watched over the pool, the reason was pretty simple for her: "I live right down the street."

"I would've spent the money easy in the commute," Miller said. Her Dodge Neon, she added, only gets about 20 miles to the gallon. According to a Mapquest search, a round trip between the YMCA and Sebring High School is more than 8 miles.

Copley's more of a commuter. Between her job, basketball practice, church and her other errands, she says she spends $55 a week on gas. That's seven hours on lifeguard duty just to drive around.

Filling Time

If they're not not working––and for many students, as they're working––an increasing number of students are working on other projects, several sources said.

Laura White, South Florida Community College's associate dean for enrollment management and the college's dual enrollment coordinator, said that dual enrollment shot up for this summer even as the enrollment for the normal school year fluctuated over the past three years.

For the campuses in Avon Park, Lake Placid, Bowling Green and Arcadia, SFCC's databases reported a total of 180 students enrolled for the summer A and B terms so far, compared to 182 last summer and 119 students in 2006. With registrations still open, she anticipates that number will go up.

"These are very positive numbers," White said. "I believe it's because of more awareness of the value of dual enrollment classes to students."

Even some churches are getting kids to help out. Dustin Woods, Sebring's football coach and a youth minister at the Grace Bible Church of Highlands County, said they were planning an event in Daytona and youth missions in North Carolina and Jackson, Miss. –– that's the mission Copley brought up.

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