Here at Wilsonville High School, there are many students who thrive at school. But when it’s time to close up for the day and head home, many of those students go off to work. Whether that’s in Wilsonville or not, a lot of them work various types of jobs. 

Carly Crocker, a junior at Wilsonville, works at the local Dutch Bros Coffee. She likes the energy and her kind co-worker who bring her up when she has had a hard day. Per week, Crocker works on an average of 18 to 20 hours. Usually, she goes straight from school and off to work. She tries to get her homework finished at school so that she can put all of her focus and effort into her job. “When it is really busy, I think it is a lot of fun because I get to focus on my job and listen to music while making drinks,” Crocker says. Finally, after work, she gets home at about 11:00 pm and does it again the next day. On her days off she loves to hang out with friends and tries to catch up on all of her homework before returning. She loves her job and could not be more grateful for what she has.

Lilli Wesse, a pro snowboarder and track star, is jumping into her senior year at WVHS. This coming year, Wesse is looking forward to a relaxed senior schedule and is excited about graduation. Outside of school she devotes her time to snowboard team, and running track, and recently applied for a job at the local McMenamins restaurant. With her extracurriculars, Wesse has on average 4-5 hours to herself every night after school.

Brandon Bautista, a senior at Wilsonville High School and number 18 on the Wildcats football team, also works at a busy Construction site called RBP Construction. He works on average 20 hours per week, and to his surprise, likes it very much. He normally spends all day doing homework at school, going to football, and then to work. “My job allows me a space to let go and hang out with the people I love. My coworkers are amazing and I like how we work together,” Bautista said. On his days off– which are little to none– he likes to catch up on homework and hang out with “the boys.” Besides football, school and homework, and his Job, he always manages time for himself.

Theo Buchwald, a star water polo player and the swimmer is moving full speed ahead into his final year of high school. Looking ahead, Buchwald is “excited to be a senior” but “not looking forward to [his] AP stats class because of the homework that it’ll give out.” Outside of school, he spends his time outperforming the competition in water polo and working as a lifeguard on the weekends. After school, homework, and extracurriculars, Buchwald typically has about an hour to himself every day.

Many Wildcats are balancing work, school, and extracurriculars, and doing so successfully!