THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 22, 1995 TAG: 9509220052
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHARON GREENE, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 144 lines
``WOULD YOU LIKE fries with that, sir?''
For many teenagers this is more than a polite question. These words are a way to make money and fill endless hours that would otherwise be spent doing something fun outdoors.
Yes indeed, we are speaking of summer jobs.
While fast food or retail sales were popular choices for summer employment, some Hampton Roads teenagers chose instead to chase their riches on the information super highway, on a street corner, in another country or even in a plastic suit.
Take for example, Chris Grider, 17, a senior at Princess Anne High. Chris was hired as a demo-person at the Navy base commissary in Norfolk. Duties included donning a plastic ``Kool-Aid man'' suit and passing out samples to customers.
Perks included having tons of awestruck kids waving or coming right up to show their love with a hug. Chris' favorite memory of working was when a smitten Kool-Aid fan came up and exclaimed, ``Wow! You're bigger than the guy on TV.'' Chris, who stands 6-feet-4 in stocking feet and towers at more than 8 feet in costume, could only grab his enormous belly and laugh.
Chris notes, however, that this job is not for everyone. Work is not steady. Demonstrations are only needed every month or two during sales promotions. That's usually two six-hour days for each promotion. While the $60-a-day pay might impress many, the job takes a lot of patience.
``You have to be very charismatic, a people person,'' Chris said.
The suit is constructed of airtight plastic and kept inflated by two small fans in the lower half of the costume. If something goes wrong, the fans stop and the suit deflates. This can get really hot and uncomfortable, not to mention the horror when it deflates and little kids see Kool-Aid man losing weight, fast.
Despite the job hazards, Chris says he will definitely return next summer. Au revoir, sans regrets
Baby sitting is an all too familiar means of funding young adulthood. Andrea ``Annie'' Nerheim, 17, a senior at Cox High School, took her child-care skills to France.
It all started two years ago when she baby-sat the children next door to her. Their parents, a Navy SEAL and his Paris-born wife, were later stationed in France, but the family didn't want to give Annie up. So, she was invited to spend two months this summer tending to the toddlers and traveling with the family as they vacationed across France. Duties included making the meals for the kids and some light housework.
Annie realized she might have made a mistake when she got off the plane and was greeted with a messy diaper.
``I can look back now and see I was exploited,'' Anne admitted. ``The family was just proud to have an American working for them and so I was really taken advantage of.''
For the next two months, she acted as a baby sitter, full-time maid and the chef who prepared many of the family's five meals per day. While breakfast was usually only bread and jam, lunch wasn't so easy.
``It's a big, sit-down lunch. . . usually a casserole dish. . . and a lot of stuff au gratin,'' said Annie.
Although the original plan was to work six hours a day, Annie soon found her day beginning at 7 a.m. and not ending until 10 at night, all for $80 a week.
While it may not have been the best job, she is glad for the experience. She saw a lot of France, including Brest, on the English Channel and Toulouse, a large inland city on a river.
She also made many friends her own age. On one rare day off, she traveled with a friend by boat to a nearby city and spent a day shopping in Toulon. One regret is that she didn't have enough time to go to a discotheque. Overall, Annie says she will not be returning next year, despite the family's invitation. Across the English Channel
Eighteen year-old Rachel Miller, a senior at Midland High in Michigan and a former Princess Anne High student, also left the country for work. What started off as a visit to family in England resulted in a job at Gilchris Chocolate Factory in Norfolk, England.
Rachel's mom works at the factory and helped her land a job, and Rachel spent her first summer away from Virginia Beach working 40 hours a week in chocolate. She was a packer and a ``warehouse rat,'' filling boxes with luscious brown treats or fetching the ingredients needed to create the confections. All told, she earned about 400 pounds, or roughly $600.
While it may sound deliciously exotic, Rachel admits it changed her life in a way she didn't think possible. The once chocolat-a-holic now swears to never touch the stuff again. She also has upsetting news for many teens.
``Chocolate is really bad for you,'' she explains, ``not only the ingredients used but what else they do to it.''
She has no plans to return next summer. She also knows that if she ever sees another piece of chocolate, it will be too soon. Parking lots in paradise
Chris Farabaugh, a 16-year-old Kellam High junior, was a ``parking assistance expert'' who directed cars and collected money from beach-goers at the Virginia Beach United Methodist Church parking lot on 19th Street at the Oceanfront.
His worst experience happened when he was caught unaware of a new parking regulation and the police entered the lot and ticketed the people he had told to park in the handicapped spaces.
Chris worked an average of 40 hours a week at $5 an hour and hopes to return next year, hopefully with less mishaps.
``It really is a slack job,'' he said. ``I just relax and watch the people go by.''
Meanwhile, 1995 Cox High School graduate David Henley, 18, started his summer by boarding a ship - entrepreneurship, that is. Another friend of David's had started his own business, and David said to himself, ``If he can do it, why can't I?''
And so CyberSave Online was born, a company that caters to business or home computer needs, usually by building or setting up computer systems. David has been working for years with these electronic gadgets and felt it was time to do something with his vast knowledge.
At first David worked 40 to 80 hours a week with little to show for it. CyberSave Online also went through a period of financial trouble and almost had to shut down due to ``price wars'' with other computer companies.
Business finally did change for the better, however, and today it is a completely different story. Now, working 10 to 15 hours a week, David is clearing $500 profit per week.
He cautions others wanting to follow in his footsteps. ``A person must be willing to initially work their butt off for nothing,'' he warns.
David is proud of sticking to it, though, and happy to be in a position where he can choose his own hours. Next summer he hopes to start other small computer companies with his family, and maybe even expand his own.
So keep these stories in mind if you're searching for a change of pace next summer. The possibilities are endless. Make connections through family, browse through the Yellow Pages, scout the classifieds, but remember to target an area you are interested in. No matter what happens, try to have fun. If that doesn't work, you can always chalk it up to experience and quit when the summer's over. MEMO: Sharon Greene spent her summer as a hostess at a seafood restaurant. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by L. TODD SPENCER, Staff
Chris Grider...
Chris Farabaugh...
Andrea Nerheim...
Cox High graduate David Henley started his own business, CyberSave
Online, a company that sets up computer systems for individuals or
businesses.
Sharon Greene is a Princess Anne senior. by CNB