Many high school students work at local businesses around Severna Park. These businesses range from local shops to fast food restaurants. Many students from Severna Park High work at Chipotle, a local fast food restaurant, which has become a popular place to work. Reasons why the restaurant has become such a popular workplace for high school students vary.

Junior Hudson Cho has worked at Chipotle for over a year, and cited familiarity as his reason for working. “All four of my sisters either worked at the store before I started,” Cho said. “So I kind of already knew the crew.” Junior James Fallon also cited familiarity as his motivation. “I had friends who worked there and I heard it was a fun job.” Fallon said. Students from SPHS make up a sizable part of Chipotle’s staff, with Cho stating that “Around 5-10 people” from the high school work at Chipotle. Pay and financial incentives are the primary motivations in applying for any job, and Chipotle is no exception. “We get paid 14 an hour, but it’s a pretty stressful job.” Cho continued. “On top of hourly wage, for college students chipotle gives a 5000 dollar scholarship as long as you’ve been working 15 hours a week for 4 months, and work at least 18 hours a week.” With that said, the reason why so many students work at Chipotle is obvious. “The pay and the people,” Cho said. “The pay is pretty self-explanatory, but the majority of the people who work there are easy to get along with.” Fallon mirrored Cho’s reasoning with his own, praising the restaurant’s benefits and incentives. “Because the pay is very good, but most importantly we get free food after every shift and a 50% discount when we aren’t working,” Fallon said. The benefits of working at Chipotle are evident in their employees’ praise, but is the job really worth taking? “It’s a difficult and pretty stressful job when just starting out (the customers are always really mad for some reason),” Cho continued. “So I would really only recommend to those who are mentally stable and ready to work hard, but after a few weeks of working there it gets a lot easier.”

Wherever you work, shop, or eat, chances are you’ll meet a few people who go to our school, whether it’s at a store, a restaurant or anywhere else. But if you decide to go to Chipotle, you’re sure to find a familiar face behind the counter.