While many people visit nail salons for a manicure, junior Julianna Rush runs her own inside her home. 

Getting her nails done had always been a fond memory of her childhood, especially after having to get two of her fingers amputated when she was 4 years old. 

“My mom took me to get my nails done all of the time to make sure I never felt any different,” Rush said, “Growing up with missing fingers is hard, but I always felt more comfortable with nails.” 

Rush decided to pursue it as a career after she did her friend’s nails once for fun and got many compliments. She enjoys doing nails because of the opportunities she gets to meet and talk to new people every day. 

“The most unique part is getting to meet new people. Since starting nails, I have been able to open up and get to know people,” Rush said.

Her favorite part of each appointment is when the nails are finished, and she sees the client’s satisfaction. 

“I love looking at the reaction from my clients. I love seeing the excitement and love in their eyes. It makes me feel so good to see them love their nails,” Rush said. 

She promotes her business and connects with clients using Instagram. 

She plans on opening her own salon after getting a license and going to college for business management. 

Mowing the lawn can be seen as an annoying weekend chore, but junior Donald Brown tends to lawns to make money. 

He started his business due to his interest in agriculture and with help from his grandfather. 

His grandfather “had a lot of extra equipment sitting around,” Brown said, referring to the start of his business. “Now, because I have made enough money, I have all brand new equipment,” he said.

Before starting his business, Brown tended to and landscaped his own family’s lawn. 

Typically, Brown cuts around six lawns per day, and he usually works four days per week. Considering his long days, Brown feels that he makes a large profit from his work. 

“I do think I make a lot more considering it’s harder work and long days,” he said.

Due to his job being outside, there have been occasions when Brown has had the weather impact his work.

“The one time I was at a client’s house, and it started to downpour rain. So we packed up and as we were getting ready to leave, the sun came out and we were able to cut the client’s grass,” he said.

Brown has learned several things from working.

“I have learned discipline on what to and not to do when it comes to dealing with customers and working. I have also learned budgeting, like when to buy new equipment, or not and save the money.”

Brown is enrolled in Steel Center for electrical construction, but he plans to keep landscaping as a side job. 

Freshman Yar Ator has taken one of her passions and made a profit from it. 

Ator bakes milk cakes, cookies, and seasonal desserts to sell. She takes care of the entire process, from baking through packaging and selling. 

“I bake desserts, package them, and sell them to people in my community,” Ator said. “I also design flyers or post about my desserts when I’m doing a sale so people know what flavors I have.”

Ator started baking at a young age with her family. Over time, she became more interested in expanding her recipes and creating her own desserts. She began her business after receiving compliments about her baking. 

“I thought it would be fun to turn something I enjoy into a way to make some extra money,” she said.

Her process takes place in three days. On the first day, she prepares dough for the second day, when she does all the baking and decorating. On day three, Ator packages and prepares the treats to be sold. 

Her recipes are mostly her own creations or ones she has found and adapted.

Profits from sales depend on how much she bakes and if she has a good sale. She spends a few hours per week baking, preparing, and packaging. Through her business, she has learned about managing, creating, budgeting, and promoting. 

Ator’s favorite part is making the seasonal desserts and seeing the feedback.

“I create new seasonal flavors and people get really excited to try them,” she said. “It’s always interesting to see which ones end up becoming favorites.”

Ator does not plan to pursue baking as a full-time career. Instead, she is interested in becoming an ultrasound technician.

Sophomore Evan Schoming plays a major role in dance recitals held at Baldwin without performing on stage. 

Schoming is in charge of pulling curtains, operating lights and sound, and handling concessions for community dance performances that are held at Baldwin High School’s auditorium. 

He started working in the auditorium after a friend recommended it to him. A perk of working at the school is that a typical shift feels like just getting to hang out with his friends, who also work on the crew Schoming said. 

He works summers and winters, when the high school hosts most of its outside events, and his shifts are typically very long. They begin with setup at 8 a.m., then the show starts around noon, and everything gets reset around 8 p.m. 

He also works during Baldwin assemblies and school events, but he does not get paid for events during school. His job allows him to learn more about what is happening in Baldwin High School and behind the scenes of big productions.

“You get to know backstage and the auditorium really well. A lot of people don’t know what’s going on behind shows, so you could learn a lot of new things,” Schoming said. 

Schoming’s position is vital to keep events running. 

“If we’re not running it, the whole show falls apart. They rely on us because they do book out the whole auditorium,” he said.  

Schoming does not plan on pursuing stage crew work as a career in the future, but appreciates the opportunity he has currently. 

While teens work as wait staff to serve food, sophomore Dylan Kluczkowski cooks. 

Kluczkowski works at Chef Tim’s Catering, where he helps prepare the food for all kinds of major events such as birthdays and graduations. 

During a typical workday during the week, Kluczkowski comes to the kitchen as early as possible after school and makes pre-ordered meals. On weekends, he cooks bigger meals for parties and prepares them for delivery. 

Kluczkowski has learned to cook many different types of food.

“The type of food we serve changes from week to week. The menu always has a large variety; the favorites are usually chicken parmesan, stir fry, and meatballs,” Kluczkowski said. 

He has gained a lot of experience for future jobs and personal skills. 

“It’s really cool that I get to learn how to cook many different meals. I also learned more about time management and how to work with others,” Kluczkowski said. 

Kluczkowski has learned the ins and outs of food production and storage. When high-pressure situations arise, he knows how to handle them. 

“The power went out while we were working, so we had to work quickly with flashlights in the dark to keep the food from going bad,” Kluczkowski said. 

Kluczkowski does not plan to continue working as a caterer after college, but wants to keep the job throughout college.