Shelby Martin – Culinary Co-Op

For my senior year, I’m participating in the Pathways2Success Cooperative Education class and graduating early in January. So rather than filling up my last year with electives to earn enough credits, I’m in class for half of the day and at work the other half. In hearing that I had this option, there was no question about whether I would take the class or not, it’s perfect for anyone who wants a head start at earning money.

Since May of 2016, I have worked at Dutchland Pretzels at the New Castle Farmer’s Market in Delaware on Saturdays. This past summer my boss opened another pretzel stand at Smucker Village in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, and I have been working there since. The job is pretty straightforward in that we make pretzels, along with pretzel wraps consisting of various meats, cheeses, sauces, and seasonings. Even after a year of working with our products I still enjoy each and every one of them. As soon as I get out of school I go to work where I then make the dough, set up the stand, and begin rolling products. Through my time working there I’ve met and catered to a plethora of different people with different personalities, temperaments, and backgrounds. From this, I’ve cultivated my people skills so much that now I genuinely enjoy conversation. Whereas before I’d rather hide in the back and not talk to customers. Along with that, I’ve learned to work with others in a tight space for a long period of time and it’s not something I dread anymore. All in all, I’ve learned more about people and myself than I have about business or food, which to me is much more beneficial.

Cultivating and expanding my social skills (and even social tolerance) has proven and will continue to prove beneficial, especially considering my goals coming out of high school. My reason for joining Pathways is simply to allow myself more time for work, leading to more money, allowing me to go to Hillsong International Leadership College as soon as I can. For the majority of my seventeen years, my career goals have bounced around anywhere from flipping houses, to a marine biologist, to a pilot—anything and everything interests me. Though in recent years I’ve started paying more attention to my passion for art whether it be in the form of music, photos, videos, or writing. So as of now, I’m saving money to attend Hillsong College for at least 2-3 years after high school. Pathways is helping me tremendously with that goal of mine.

All in all, Pathways is the best option for me and my post-high school goals. Though if anybody wants to save money and make connections for jobs, it’s the best option for them as well.