High school is a time where teenagers start to explore jobs. Within the Spring Hill and Olathe area, there are a few locations that are common among teenagers.  

Culver’s

Audrey Helms, 10, has been working at Culver’s for a year and a half and started working there to pay for their car and to help save up for college. 

Culver’s is a popular place among students and families in the community.

“My favorite thing about working there is getting paid and making conversations with all the families who come in,” Helms said. 

Jobs can serve as a learning experience for students and can be important to teach life skills.  

“I learned that I have to deal with annoying people wherever I work, and I learned to get used to people and make them not bother me as much. You also learn to keep yourself responsible and earn your own money,” Helms said. 

Price Chopper

Aubrey Fuqua, 11, works at Price Chopper and has been working there for around two and a half years. 

Price Chopper is another popular location where teenagers work; it is also a place many families visit often.

“I picked that place because I’ve been shopping there for years with my family. It’s a great shopping area; it’s close by, and it’s convenient and has pretty good management,” Fuqua said. 

Along with building character, responsibility, and money management, getting a job can teach teenagers skills they can use in the future. 

“What made me decide to [get a job] was my parents were trying to teach me a lesson with filling out a job application, and the job application actually went through so we said okay. I also needed the money,” Fuqua said. 

Fuqua speaks about the positives and negatives of working at Price Chopper.

“[They are] very flexible with my scheduling, and they want you to live a life and do things for school. They tell you school or religious activities first in front of the job. Some cons are [that] some people use calling out to their advantage and ruined it for a lot of us. Also how people treat you,” Fuqua said. 

Target

Blake Mclaughlin, 12, has been working at Target since early February of last year. 

Mclaughlin talks about the importance of working a job as a student.

“I think, especially young people, should work a retail job at some point in their life. It builds a lot of character. I think it is important,” Mclaughlin said. 

Target is a store where a vast amount of people shop at.

Mclaughlin states that there is not really any stress to their job. It can be boring and tedious, but they are flexible and pay a decent amount of money for what they do. 

Learning to work with others around you can create different relationships through the job. Although jobs require some amount of professionalism, teenagers find ways to make their shift better.

“There are some great people [who work there], very fun, some tomfoolery,” Mclaughlin said.