Many people find juggling school, home and social life a daunting task. But others are able to balance even more activities. Junior Donovan Rommel is one such individual who balances school, sports and has two jobs. Rommel works as a lifeguard at the Young Men’s Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.) and as a sound technician.

“I work at the Y as a lifeguard and I’m a sound technician for my church,” Rommel said.

When Rommel was in eighth grade he started his first job as a sound technician and recently he began working as a lifeguard at the Y.M.C.A.

While working and earning money can be important, having a way to get to the workplace can be even more difficult. For senior Gina Bailey, who has been working at McDonalds for five months, the process sometimes includes taking the bus.

“If I have work right after school at three o’clock I ride the bus and hang out for forty-five minutes and get ready for work there,” Bailey said.

For Rommel, getting to and from work has just become part of his everyday routine.

“I usually have my mom’s car and drive that whenever I need it for work,” Rommel said.

There are a variety of ways that one can deal with a situation. Balancing work, school and social life, many solutions can be found.

“It’s hard, yes. I do Tacoma Community College (TCC)  too, so I come to Peninsula  and I go to TCC and then I work and then you try to have friends but, after a while you get the hang of it and your schedule just kinda works itself out,” junior Patience Ely said.

“I just keep work away from school, like on the weekends, and school usually on the weekdays,” Rommel said.

Although working can be fun and rewarding, sometimes it has a tendency to have its down moments.

“Customers kinda irritate me sometimes,” Bailey said. “That’s why I don’t like working there because I get angry customers, because they’re just impatient.”

As with anything in life, being a high school student and working at the same time has both its upsides and its downsides.

“I think my favorite part is the fact that it’s a restaurant so I can order food whenever I’m hungry,” Ely said. “But yeah, there are benefits, for sure.”