When the final bell rings, sophomore Janiece Chan rushes outside to start her commute to a long day of work at Taisho.  Chan spends her afternoons taking orders, running plates, and managing customer satisfaction, a job she has proven great at throughout the years. 

Having a job while going to school is a difficult task. It requires a lot of good time management and an outstanding work ethic. Chan is a full time student who, even in a pandemic, still manages to have a part time job on top of it all.

 Chan’s mother had always worked in the restaurant industry, it was her dream to run a restaurant one day, so she and her aunt worked until they could make that dream come true.

 “I started working for my mother around three years ago,” Chan said. “I started cleaning tables and learning how to host at 12.”

The 15 year old is a server at her family’s branch of Taisho, a Japanese Hibachi restaurant. Chan explained how she has worked in all the different positions available to her, server being her favorite. Chan started working to help out her mother. Chan’s parents figured it would be a good opportunity to start building work ethic young, which will prove helpful in the future. 

“I was in “gifted kid” classes as a kid so I always had lots of extra work and stricter deadlines,” Chan said. “I’m still in more difficult classes today, so balancing work and school can be hard”. Chan manages to excel in school even with the disadvantage of having less time to spend on her studies. 

Chan’s work hours can be really crazy. Taisho is a 45 minute commute, so there are days where she goes from school to work and doesn’t get back until two in the morning. She is supposed to be up for school by 5:30, which doesn’t leave much time for sleep and homework. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to balance my personal life and my professional life,” Chan said. “ I always feel as though I’m missing out on some of the things around me.”

Chan is a dog lover who spends any allotted time in her schedule to care for her dog Ollie, Chan’s parents bought Ollie as a stress reliever and companion for the overachieving student. While being on limited time, Chan still manages to go on daily walks, as well as cooking fresh dog food every day to ensure her dog is healthy and happy. 

“It is very stressful, the food service industry isn’t an easy business, especially as a teenager,” Chan said. 

 Chan went on to say that while she does wish she had more time to herself, she is glad that she has had the opportunity to start work this early on in life. Chan is currently on the path to go to trade school and become an underwater welder. 

Chan really shows that you can succeed in school while having a job. While going down this path requires a lot of determination and good time management, Chan proves it to be possible and manageable.