Reminded of the economic crash and rising unemployment, in part because of the teachers being laid off and other financial set backs, students see the effect everywhere. Or even something more personal than that, like their provider being laid off and struggling to support them. Whatever the connection, many are burdened by this downfall. But just because the economy is bad, does that mean students have to give up?

Senior Candace Ross has taken these difficult circumstances and secured work as a handyman or in her case a “handy woman.” She paints fences, walkways, and sometimes plants flowers. In these hard times it isn’t easy finding a job so she makes her own. “Doing this helps me keep up with school work and it’s peaceful,” she said.

The abyss of the economy has never been an excuse for Ross to give up on finding jobs. So when people blame not having a job due to the lack of job opportunities, Ross disagrees . “There is a lot of ways to find jobs legally.”

Ross finds this type of work through a family friend who owns a lot of property. She has been doing this type of work since she was 10 years old. However, she has just recently started to charge for her services. She receives a pay of $50 a day and around 100-200 dollars a week depending on the job. Painting has been the main job she does to make money. But, sometimes she does not have work, which takes a toll on her income, especially since her mother is currently unemployed. As a way  to cope with the financial problems Ross puts most of her pay that she receives towards her senior expenses.

As with any job the employee’s responsibility is to make the customer satisfied. “You always want to do your best,” Ross said. She also mentions that working helps mold a person into a successful employee with a good work ethic. “It gives you self discipline, patience and determination,” she said.

For Ross painting is not a difficult task. “For me it’s easy because I have grown up around people that have done this so it comes natural,” she said. Ross also explains that in order to paint something like a porch it takes patience. “You have to make sure you get every spot,” she said. And that sometimes requires allowing  the porch to dry in order to make sure that every spot is painted.

The skills she learns now she will apply to her future.“You need these qualities of self discipline and patience to get far in life,” Ross said.

While Ross continues to acquire skills for success, she does not allow the economic distress destroy her drive.“Just because there is a struggle doesn’t mean you have to be part of the struggle.”