On March 24, 2020, Governor Whitmore executed a Stay Home, Stay Safe order which means “non-essential” people need to stay home. Many high school students are now essential workers.

Lake Shore Senior, Chris Meeks, works at Chipotle during this crisis. Meeks explains, “Mainly we have to wash our hands every 15-30 minutes. There is a little timer that goes off. No one is allowed in the store, so basically we have to take our food out to the customers.”  

Another Senior at Lake Shore, Jayla Hill, has been working at McDonalds during this pandemic. Hill says, “They make us wear masks and gloves the whole shift and we have to wash our hands every thirty minutes.” Before the crisis happened it was mainly gloves worn at work. Staying safe should always be imperative.

High schoolers who are often working part-time jobs for minimum wages are now considered “essential” during the pandemic. The importance of their positions are finally being recognized.

Meeks explains, “I’m glad! I can still help people on an everyday basis, it also feels good to have a purpose outside of yourself.”  

Hill also said, “I like being at work because there’s literally nothing else to do, but it is kind of dangerous because we’re dealing with the public all the time.”  

As an essential worker myself, I can say that Chicken Shack has changed a lot. There are a lot more precautions, no more lobby, which means no customers are allowed to eat in the store which means all our food is carry out.  Plus, there is a maximum of five people that are allowed in the store. These are vastly different guidelines. Prior to the pandemic people were allowed to enter without a limit. 

Another thing I can say is the public does act differently with everything going on. Many customers get very upset about the five person limit in the store because they have to wait outside or because they are there in the store for too long. Most of the public also wears gloves and masks when they enter the store. 

With all the precautions at work everyone still needs to be safe, follow the COVID-19 guidelines. We should also appreciate all the High School essential workers who are working right now and providing people with their needs.