A smorgasbord of activities awaits the young at summertime. For example, some students associate summer with fun and relaxation – whooping it in beaches, resorts, or other places; others spend such time earning extra cash by working in fastfood outlets and restaurants, gasoline stations, and other business establishments.
A good number of students take up summer job these days, you hear them greet you a hearty “Good morning, sir” or “Good morning, ma’am,” as you walk into a fastfood outlet. Clad in their respective fastfood outfit, they look prim and smart as they serve your food complete with spontaneous smile. “Enjoy your meal, sir! (ma’am), “they quip, and perhaps, you must have felt their gentle manner rub off on you.
This scenario plays itself before us as we visit malls or other places where a fastfood outlet is located. Some of these student workers are in high school; others – and perhaps the majority – are in college. There are even small boys and girls who try their hands at doing “serve with a smile”. A number, no doubt, work part-time during regular semesters. These student workers bide their time between study and work to help defray their school expenses and earn extra cash for daily needs.
We laud their spirit and attitude toward work. We uphold and promote the dignity of labor, because the values we learn from it are enumerable and immeasurable: courtesy, politeness, respect, thrift, honesty, you name it. Cognizant of this fact, a number of big business establishments sponsor programs directed especially to students who endeavor to earn while they learn. Institutions of learning offer the work-study program, and many students, past and present, have availed themselves of this extraordinary educational program. There’s no better time to train the hands to do productive work than when one is young.
Next time you leave any fastfood outlet and heat these student workers call out a spirited “Thanks you for coming, sir(ma’am),” try to return their smile and thank them for making work an important part of their life. They, too, need appreciation, you know.
