My Job as a Junior



Katie helping out in the Administrative office



I love to sing. It has been my passion since I can remember. My lifelong dream has been to make it on Broadway; to be an actress and a singer in New York City, the city of cities! But I knew that if I ever wanted to get there someday, I’d have to finish high school with good grades, go to college to become an even better singer, and, most importantly, get a job! Down in Burley, where I used to live, there weren’t very many opportunities for teenagers to get jobs. If there’s a rat race for teenagers, it’s getting jobs. It’s a very competitive market and only those with the best experience and amazing resumes get hired. So when I moved to the pretty little town Orofino and got the high school position at Dworshak National Fish Hatcheries, I was thrilled. It meant I was on my way to New York!



Having this job at the Hatchery has taught me so much in the past six months. I have learned how to file and use a computer more efficiently, how to pick out Mort’s (the dead fish and/or fish eggs), and many more things. The workers here at the hatchery are friendly, and made me feel welcome on the spot. My first day on the job, I was wearing high heels. Little did I know that I’d be carrying huge boxes up the stairs and would fall right back down the stairs with those boxes. But after all those who saw the scene and I had a good laugh, they helped me with the boxes. The working atmosphere is friendly, and during our breaks, laughter rings through the halls.



Katie winning Junoir Miss 2012

Every other Friday I’m in the office answering phones, filing, and doing other many things, and the other Fridays I’m down in the basement or outside, getting some one on one time with the fish. It’s a very fun job. I balance it out with being Junior Class President, planning prom, participating in Distinguished Young Women (which just barely ended for Orofino), and getting college applications and scholarships in.

This job, I believe, has in a way, helped me on my way to becoming more mature and ready for the real world. It has taught me how to be responsible, how to act around co-workers, and how to do many things that will help me in my future life (such as filing taxes and tax returns, how to use an Excel spreadsheet and how to make labels, and much more).

Katie pours steelhead eggs into a hatching column

 

I am so glad that the hatchery has a program for high school students to come in and work. It has helped me on my way to my dream, and has helped me to become more mature. I now know what is expected of one when they work for someone. I am so glad for the opportunity to work here and hope to keep working here for a long time yet.