Students Check Out Supermarket Jobs On Career Day

With his shy smile and braces, Jacob Spencer looks a little young to be standing behind a cash register at Rosauer’s supermarket.

And actually, he is.

The 14-year-old eighth-grader from St. Paschal’s School worked at the Spokane Valley supermarket for four hours Wednesday during a career day.

St. Paschal’s and Rosauer’s, 8517 E. Trent, are partners in education. This is the second year seventh and eighth graders have worked at the store.

Cashier Carol Jones said Spencer is serious about his work and counts customers’ change carefully.

“Don’t want to mess up,” Spencer said with a quick smile.

Fourteen students spent the day in the supermarket’s deli, bakery, check stand, grocery and service department.

Before starting work, they filled out applications and interviewed with the supermarket’s assistant manager to experience the job-finding process from beginning to end.

“Most of their applications are much better than what we normally see,” said Ken Broderius, the assistant manager.

Broderius critiqued each interview afterwards, advising the students to smile and make eye contact, and giving them tips on what to say.

Spencer said his interview went great. “He told me to come back in two years.”

The students dressed for the occasion. The boys wore dress shirts and ties, and the girls sported skirts or dresses.

Most said they gained more respect for workers whose jobs previously seemed easy.

When lunch time rolled around, a mob of students from West Valley High School crowded in front of the deli.

“They were just ordering away, nonstop,” said Misty Driggs, 12.

Driggs might have been a little flustered, but deli worker Dorothy Shelly said the students did great.

Cashier Angela Buhler agreed. “They’re really shy and nervous at first and want to make sure they get everything right.” But they became more confident with time, she said.

Seventh-grader Shannon O’Neill’s favorite job was making announcements on the intercom.

“I had to go, ‘Jim, line one, please,”’ said O’Neill, 13. She also liked buttering garlic bread in the bakery.

Customers, even those in a hurry, were patient while the students learned their tasks, Broderius said.

“When they figure out what’s going on, they’re more than happy to stand there,” he said.