SUMMER JOBS: Marblehead teens earn dough in diverse ways – Marblehead Current

All around Marblehead, high school students spent their summer working a variety of jobs. Whether selling flowers, scooping ice cream, teaching theater or refueling boats on the harbor, many Marblehead teens have been busy fattening their wallets.

“Floral design is an art form,” said Dante Genovesi, a senior at MHS who works at the flower shop Roses and Thistle. “It just adds so much color to a place. A wedding, a dance, a house — whatever it may be, flowers just add to the environment.”

Dante spent his summer setting up weddings and making bouquets for the flower shop. He also had a second job teaching theater at the JCC summer day camp.

“It’s a lot of fun for the kids,” said Genovesi. “They get an opportunity to dip their toes into theater, and it’s good to introduce something to them that they’ve never interacted with at all.”

Other students are working out on the water this summer.

“I just love being out on the water,” said Jack Morgan, a 16-year-old who works for the Boston Yacht club refueling boats and driving the race committee boats for local regattas. “So being down on the dock and interacting with people on their boats is great.”

Sixteen-year-old Tyler Dana is also on the water. But instead of refueling boats, he spends his time pumping out the human waste from boats around Marblehead and Salem Harbor for the harbormaster. This service keeps Marblehead waters clean and safe for humans and wildlife.

“I think that keeping our waters safe is really important,” said Dana. “That’s personally why I do it.”

After dropping dramatically in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of high schoolers with summer jobs is increasing again. By 2021, it was up to 36.6% from 20.5% in 2020. In July 2023, it was found that 55% of people aged 16-24 were employed. The biggest employer of teens in Marblehead is the Parks and Recreation Department, with over 40 high schoolers employed at Marblehead beaches and summer camps.

Down at Goldthwait Reservation, Colin Hart and others are busy in the hot sun working as parking attendants. They also sell passes to enter the conservation area, weed-whack, repair fences, paint, and do anything else to keep the conservation area running well. Hart, an amateur photographer, also finds time to photograph the diverse wildlife found in the marsh. But Hart is the first to admit his job isn’t quite so demanding all the time. Sometimes it still feels like a lazy summer.

“You can just sit back and read a book when you are finished with the tasks,” said Hart. “Just being in a beautiful area, and sitting back and reading a book is livin’ the life.”

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