Many students dream of becoming doctors or lawyers. Senior Jonathan La Plain simply wanted to fix bikes.

So he went around to shops and asked if they needed any help.

He has been interested in mountain biking since he first rode a bike at age five and wanted a career at would reflect his interests. For him, that meant walking into Chain Reaction Bicycles to fix bikes from Thursday to Sunday, for twenty hours a week from the beginning of the school year and ending in Sept.

“[I’m glad I’m] able to do something that I actually […] like doing, instead of being a cashier somewhere,” La Plain said. “[It’s] something I really want to be doing in my life — working with bikes, and I like it not only because it’s a hobby, [but] as well as a job, which is nice for the obvious reasons.”

He worked as a mechanic in the back of the shop and was mainly in charge of fixing customers’ bikes. Along with his job, La Plain enjoyed employee benefits at Chain Reaction Bicycles.

“Cheaper bikes [are] always nice,” La Plain said. “[But] I think the most significant thing I’ll take away from it will be … how to do things more efficiently — normally I figure things out [with] the guess-and-check method, but knowing what you’re doing is always appreciated.”

La Plain had been working at the bike shop since a week before school began. His friends were supportive of his job, as many of them were bikers. Having a friend in the bike shop meant they had their own, easily-accessible repairman. However, about a month into the school year, he had to quit due to time limitations. In addition, the hours of the job weren’t flexible enough to fit his schedule. Had the hours been spread out across the week, he might have continued working there.

“The hardest part was the time — you don’t really have much of it, so you have to do as much as you can,” La Plain said. “[It was about] making a decision [and] making sure you don’t overstep yourself.”

Correction: Jonathan’s name was initially spelled incorrectly.