A student’s perspective on juggling work, school, and family
By Brandon Feliz
Observer Contributor
As the school year continues, some students find it difficult to juggle schoolwork, social life, at-home responsibilities, and work at the same time. Time management becomes a major factor in order to succeed, but time management is a skill that is not taught in school.
For some of the students here at Mount Wachusett Community College, having no time even with time management skills on their side is a harsh reality. Take the life of 20-year-old Tatiana Martinez. Martinez is a nursing student who works as a receptionist with a steady income. Before reaching this point in life, however, she was a student who worked a total of four jobs in order to support herself and her loved ones.
“I felt tired all the time because I’d be working all types of hours from 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.,” said Martinez.
Working so much out of necessity can not only be physically draining, but mentally as well. Thankfully, Martinez said she has a go-getter attitude that got her through all the hardships.
“It did give me a motivated rush being able to manage it all, as well as just remembering all of my job requirements when going from one job to another,” said Martinez. “I feel really proud of myself looking back.”
But even getting from one job to another was an issue. “It was annoying and made me feel a little uneasy having to figure out how to get from one job to another, especially on time with no car,” said Martinez.
Being out of uniform can also be an issue while working multiple jobs, and can lead to being sent home or even being fired. “It was more overwhelming making sure I had the right attire for each job, considering they all had an employee uniform,” said Martinez. “Not having everything included in your ensemble was frowned upon and sometimes unacceptable, especially in a corporate business.”
Martinez said that she later made it a priority to “build up more confidence” after learning that confidence promotes better work, both in school and the job field.
“I took it upon myself to build up more work-load management, time management, social skills and people management while going to school and working in the food and customer service industries,” she said.
After going through what seems an everyday struggle, Martinez finally found the time to breathe, knowing that after going this far, the sky is the limit.
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