Finding herself with more free time in the second semester once she submitted all her college applications, senior Iniyaa Suresh decided to apply for her first job: serving food and working the cash register at Chipotle. Not only has she always been a fan of Chipotle’s food, she also appreciates the flexible work hours and convenient location near her house. As a result, she thought it would be the perfect place to gain some work experience and broaden her horizons.

“We grow up in a bubble in Cupertino where we focus on some things such as academics, but we don’t really prioritize people skills as much,” Suresh said. “I really wanted to have a new perspective and be able to open my eyes to that diverse set of experiences rather than just having a very homogenous set of experiences.”

Even when her job gets tough, Suresh keeps in mind her goal of developing her customer service skills. She does her best to put on a smile for customers even when she’s feeling tired or down, and she views the more demanding customers as opportunities to work on her patience, rather than reasons to get annoyed. Ultimately, she finds her work rewarding and enjoyable, especially because of the support she receives from her coworkers. Although flexible hours mean she works with different people each time, she says they have always been willing to give her advice and help out on busy days or when she can’t take a shift.

“All of us are from different backgrounds and all different ages, but we’ve come to a mutual understanding that no matter who it is, we’re always willing to help,” Suresh said. “Even if you don’t know them, if they’re in need, you step up.” 

Senior Shiven Bhatt auditioned for Andaaz, MVHS’ Bollywood fusion dance team, on a whim after participating in the Homecoming boys’ dance in September. As the year progressed, he realized that it was a bigger time commitment than he anticipated. However, since he had more free time than he had in his sophomore and junior years, he chose to continue with it. 

Ultimately, Bhatt says the experience was rewarding. Even though he sometimes found it stressful to memorize choreography just days before performances, he enjoyed learning and performing the dances. He also says he found a special sense of community in Andaaz.

“The team was very wholesome and tight-knit, and it was more of a family rather than just an extracurricular activity,” Bhatt said. “The environment was very positive. I know it’s cliche, but the most important thing is the friends we’ve made along the way.” 

Although committing to a new extracurricular activity can be daunting, for those who have the time to try it out in high school, Bhatt says it’s worth the leap of faith. For him, joining a dance team was especially rewarding because he’s not sure if he’ll have time to continue it in college.

“Even if you don’t think you’re good at dancing or you don’t know if you’re going to have a good experience, just the process of trying new things will be beneficial in understanding where you are and what your interests are,” Bhatt said. “And if you do end up making the team, having that experience is great because you make a lot of new friends and good memories along the way.”

Starting the job hunt at the beginning of second semester with the hope of gaining work experience to put on her resume, senior Olivia Gao initially wanted to work at a boba shop. However, after not hearing back from any of the shops she applied to, Gao’s friend, who worked at Chuck E. Cheese, encouraged her to apply there instead. Gao currently works there as a cashier, where she mans the front desk, gives kids entry stamps and trades in prizes for tickets. She says she only recognized how much effort it takes to earn her own money after she started working.

“One hundred dollars represents a certain amount of hours of your life,” Gao said. “And basically, what we do is we trade hours of our lives for money. That was kind of eye-opening because growing up, my parents always provided me with everything. So I never really thought about it. But now, when I think about it, it’s so much hard work just to earn a little money.”

While it did take some time to adjust to her position, Gao appreciates the advice she receives on how to accomplish tasks efficiently from her coworkers, who she says are mainly high school students wanting work experience. As a result, Gao is eager to find a job when she goes to college in hopes of meeting new people and adapting to an unfamiliar environment.

“I do want to find a job if the college has some kind of jobs provided or some little restaurant nearby,” Gao said. “You learn so much from it because it’s real life. In school, you’re in this bubble, but when you actually work, you’re exposed to so many different people and so many experiences that you can’t get from school. I think that’s just as important as getting a good education.”