Staying busy in the summer: Butler area teens enjoy early job experiences
BUTLER TWP — It was a little intimidating for Lavinia Grabe when she first found herself on the inside of Edwards’ Soft Serve, a long-standing ice cream shop next door to Butler Senior High School on New Castle Road, but it felt natural after just a few shifts.
Lavinia, a rising senior at Butler high school, had been getting ice cream at the shop for years and started working there in March of 2024. Although she was working alongside adults for the first time, she said it quickly became apparent that serving ice cream is not the worst job she could be doing in the summer.
“It definitely was scary going in for the first time. I'm a pretty nervous person so it was pretty scary for me,” Lavinia said. “After the first day or two I was pretty much set. It was scary dealing with customers but everything leveled out pretty fast.”
Lavinia works at Edwards’ throughout its open season, but picks up a few more hours in the summer when out of school. She’s not the only Butler Senior High student in the ice cream biz — a few of her friends also work in the field.
Olivia Aguirre, a rising junior at Butler Senior High School, works at the Dairy Queen on Freeport Road, and like Lavinia, she has had a similarly positive experience working in ice cream.
“I love talking to people, actually. I like taking orders and helping people decide what they want,” Olivia said. “I remember, this one time, I had an order in the drive thru and it was an old lady and a kid and she said I love that you're smiling so much. You don't see that with a lot of people working anymore.”
Those under 18 years old can apply for a work permit through their respective school districts, and they can begin working at as young as 14 years old, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Lavinia, Olivia and Riley Gayhart, a rising senior at Butler High who also works at Edwards,’ each received work permits through their school and agreed it was an easy process to complete.
Riley said she started working at Edwards’ in 2022, her freshman year of high school, and said that it was an easy place to have her first job after living nearby her entire life. She added that it has been manageable to work about 20 hours a week during school, and even more during the summer.
“I wanted a first job just as something to do and it was a nice location. It's close to the high school and I thought it would be really good for transportation,” Riley said. “I am not in any sports or anything and it's nice working with people of all different ages.”
Minors can work up to 28 hours a week during the school year, but that number expands during the summer, outside the school term.
Scheduling is not a major issue for the Butler area teens, who each said their jobs are pretty flexible on their work hours. Olivia said she hasn’t been too overloaded on hours since she started at Dairy Queen.
“Having a job is stressful but it's the perfect amount of hours where I don't feel like I get too stressed,” Olivia said.
Lavinia also said taking on a job seemed like a challenge at first and the jump from having summers completely off to working was a big change. However, she said having a set schedule in the summer has been beneficial.
“I did see it as a pretty good thing,” Lavinia said. “Last summer I worked a lot there. It was kind of my reason for getting up early and getting stuff done.”
While Edwards’ is only open from the spring to the start of winter, Riley has another source of income in Moraine Pointe Cinemas, where she works throughout the year. She said the theater also gives her flexible hours, so the challenge is just in juggling two different schedules.
“Whenever Edwards’ opened, I was doing one day, so I work two days at the movie theater and two at Edwards,” Riley said. “There's a lot more people to meet, a lot more to get to know, but it's a movie theater and the environment is a really nice place to work.”
Work schedules are a slightly different story during the school year. Riley and Olivia said they do few to no extracurricular activities, so they just have to keep up with their school work. Lavinia is in the Latin Club, but said she also just has to make time for her schoolwork around her work schedule and vice versa.
“I would go there after school and after that I would do my homework and whatever else I had to do,” Lavinia said. “I definitely did have to manage my time, but I am always able to.”
As Olivia explained, most people who order ice cream are in a good mood. However, she has had a few interactions with customers that have taught her life lessons about working with people.
Olivia said the entire job is about customer interactions, so she doesn’t let them get to her.
“Working in the food industry, you definitely run into people who treat you differently as a teenager compared to adults,” Olivia said. “Sometimes they're a little nicer because they see you're a teenager. Other times they can be more rude or condescending because they think you don't know how to do your job.
“I think teenagers get treated differently at a food service job.”
Riley also said she doesn’t let the off interaction or two get to her. Sometimes she has off days as well, where she can’t get in the groove of taking and filling orders — days that have also taught her some life lessons.
“Someone might be nice and happy that day. Some people might be rude,” Riley said. “Some days even I'm iffy. I'm trying to make ice cream and my hands are shaking for some reason.”
Going to work in the summer has become almost like going to school during the rest of the year for Lavinia, who said her work schedule gives her even more structure than just going to school alone. To Lavinia, the benefit of working in the summer — aside from earning some money — is also meeting people who she gets to give a positive experience.
“I like customer service and meeting people,” Lavinia said. “When you hand a little kid an ice cream cone and they're smiling and giggling … that’s a nice thing.”
