Work ethic is a large part of my values that my family has impressed upon me. From my mom’s side of the family that work more with the community or with their hands, to my dad’s side that work with multiple people and companies. My hometown is surrounded by many labor intensive jobs and agricultural jobs. It’s also great because the community wants to help their children gain work and life experience that they will hire and let students be workers and students. I’ve gotten both of my jobs from hearing through the grapevine and knowing the local families or students that worked for them.
I’ve been working since my sophomore year of high school at my local elementary school as a Summer Cleaner. While it is not the most glamorous of jobs, it did make me work hard and not be afraid to do what I need to get the job done. I worked there for three years and have been part of a team, working jobs on my own and even appointed team leader last summer. I learned about hard work and how everyone’s jobs are important no matter how insignificant it seems to others.
My other summer job that I started was at a local Apple Orchard. I worked in the store with customers and other workers. Since it was a family run business I got a more hands on training and instructions both from peers and the owners. It was a really diverse job because I learned about the different produce, how to sort them, how to deal with customers and more about customer service. It was a agricultural job and even if I do not pursue a career in that aspect, I can still appreciate learning about it and what exactly goes into running and maintaining an Orchard. I also learned that I hate buying produce at a chain store any more (the fault of too much knowledge of fruit).