Students abandoned San Marcos for Spring Break leaving the town almost ghost-like. Despite the quiet, working students are making the best of their vacations regardless of responsibilities.
English senior Dana Dacy brews lattes and espressos as a barista at Wake the Dead Coffee House. She said she’s sacrificing the week to make money for a trip to New York City this summer.
“I’m bummed about working now, but I’ll thank myself later,” Dacy said. “I work with good people so we’ll all suffer together. It’ll be fun.”
Dacy said working at a coffee shop motivates her to maintain her studies too, even during a school holiday.
“People come here to study, so I usually study when it’s slow,” she said.
Sociology sophomore Michael Lind is definitely not studying. Since his dorm closed for the break, he’s been sleeping on a friend’s sofa and tossing frisbees at Sewell Park. Despite his newly found leisure time, Lind admits he can’t lose all sense of responsibility.
“I thought Spring Break would be a good time to find a job,” Lind said. “There probably won’t be any good job openings until summer though.”
Lind said that while the local job market is slow, he’s not discouraged. He said he’s confident he will secure a position by early May when students move home for the summer holiday. Until then he’ll be spending less.
“Other than that I’ve been at the river every day,” he said. “My roommate and I are going to South by Southwest at the end of the week too.”
For many student employees staying in the area for the week, San Marcos’ proximity to Austin makes South by Southwest a convenient getaway. Philosophy senior Hannah Jordan planned her work schedule at the Italian Garden Restaurant around the festival so she can work and play.
“My tips this week are paying for South by Southwest,” Jordan said. “I won’t have to spend my savings, so that’s cool.”
Jordan said tip-dependent jobs in a university community are difficult, especially during Spring Break when business slows.
“Most of my customers are students in the same financial boat as me which means they can only afford to tip so much,” she said. “Waitressing can really suck in a college town.”
Among the employed and unemployed, some students spend idle time. Psychology junior Andrew Garrett has been contributing his afternoons to the Hub, a full service bicycle shop located on the square.
“Helping out at the Hub is like cheap entertainment for me,” Garrett said. “It is spring break though. I don’t want to work that hard.”
Garrett said he’s using the opportunity to tune up his bike for South by Southwest where he plans to ride at the end of the week.
"Thank God Austin's so close," he said.
Photos courtesy of Texas State University, www.bicyclelounge.com and www.sxsw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment