By Becca Persinger

“No job is a waste of your time if you put forth 100% effort,” Co-Op Coordinator Jan Bible said, “Each is a stepping stone in your journey to the job you will ultimately end up with.”

For the past seven years, Bible has been the coordinator for Co-op for Cisne, Clay City, Flora, Louisville, and Noble. From fast food to farming, she has seen quite a variety of different jobs over the years.

“The most unique job I have seen was when one of my students were working on a pheasant farm,” Bible said, “But I have seen a little bit of everything.”

Banks, salons, gas stations, dentist offices, day care centers- every job you could name, a Co-op student has had, and through this work, students are taught responsibility, time management, and always having a good work ethic.

“Working while you are in high school is very rewarding, and would be a great experience for every student,” Bible said, “It’s amazing to see some of my former students graduating from college and coming back to work at their high school Co-op job.”

During her high school years in the ‘80’s, Bible participated in Co-op. The class’ coordinators at the time were Lucy Burgess and Mary Beth Stein. One of the biggest changes that was made to the Co-op program was the increasing need for students to have basic computer skills. The time of technology has risen, and students are now having to learn how to use electronic registers, multiple computer programs, and how type at an extremely fast pace which was not necessary in Bible’s co-op years.

“I am trying my best to follow in the footsteps of my co-op teachers, but still keep up with modern technology,” Bible said.

With everything in life there is going to be pros and cons, and a major con of Co-op is getting students to realize that they have to start from the bottom and work their way up to the top. In other words, they are finding out that they are the low men on the totem pole, but that will all change in good time with some hard work and dedication.

“You have to start somewhere,” Bible said, “There will always be some problems on the job, but students have to learn to work through them.”

With President Obama pushing a new law that raises minimum wage to $10.10, a lot could change for the Co-op kids. This would make finding a job even harder for students, and trying to earn a position over someone who is not in school and who is available to work more hours than a teen in high school will be nearly impossible.

“If I were an employer and minimum wage was raised to $10.10, you could bet anything that I would be hiring someone who is out of school and who could be at work at any given notice over a student who could only work a few hours a day,” Bible said.

Though, if minimum wage is raised, this could be good incentive for students to work harder to obtain and maintain a position of employment.

“A job is a job no matter if you are getting paid $8.25 or $10.10, and with that pay, you are also getting invaluable experience that you will use later on in your life” Bible said, “This is why I believe that having a job in high school is important. It lets kids see what it is like in the real world, and just how tough it is to land and keep a job in this economy.”