NATCHEZ — It isn’t uncommon to see a McKenzie’s Popcorn employees balancing boxes of popcorn, Icees and several large cups of fresh-squeezed lemonade.

But the balancing act for McKenzie’s employees isn’t just behind the business’ counter. Since the popcorn shop is staffed almost entirely by high school students, staffers must also balance schoolwork, homework and time with friends and family.

But, for Beth Cavin, Leah Manoley and Lauren Thomas, a packed schedule is just the way they like it. All three girls are spending their summer vacation — as well as the school year — working part time at the popcorn shop.

“My parents figured it was time for me to start helping out with my expenses,” said Thomas, a 17-year-old incoming senior at Adams County Christian School. “I like having my own money, too”

But Thomas doesn’t spend all of her money. She makes a point to save a portion of her money each pay period.

“I always put $100 in the bank no matter what I make,” Thomas said. “That is something my dad is really proud of. He says he is impressed with the fact that I’m acting responsibly.”

Thomas said on top of having a little extra money, she has also learned some valuable skills while working at McKenzie’s Popcorn. Most notable, she said, is how to deal with unsatisfied customers.

“You’re going to have rude customers,” she said. “You just have to try your best to satisfy them and then let the rest roll off your back.”

For Cavin, who also started working at McKenzie’s Popcorn to help pay for some of her privileges, having the opportunity to interact with customers is the highlight of her job.

“I’m a people person,” she said. “So, I like to talk to them and get their order ready for them.”

But at just 15 years old Cavin said not many of her friends are working, which makes it more difficult to find time to spend with them.

“Sometimes they will come up here and talk to me while I’m working,” Cavin said. “But we’re pretty busy.”

Cavin not only has to balance work, school and friends, she is also a member of the Vidalia High School dance team. But she has no plans of lightening her load anytime soon.

“I’ve learned a lot about being responsible, and my parents are really proud of that,” she said.

While Cavin said she has her schedule under control, Manoley admits her life can get a little hectic.

The 17-year-old incoming senior at ACCS, said when she feels like she has too much on her plate, her family is right there to help her though.

“It gets hard sometimes to get get everything done. It can be crazy,” she said. “But my parents are very encouraging. They always tell me ‘You can do it,’ and ‘We are very proud.’”

And, when the girls feel overwhelmed, they can be sure they have a sympathetic boss to turn to. McKenzie’s Popcorn co-owner Amy McKenzie Gamberi was in the same situation when she was in high school at ACCS. Her parents were the owners of McKenzie’s Popcorn before retiring two years ago.

“I’ve never worked anywhere else,” Gamberi said. “We are very lenient and understanding for the girls.”

But that is because Gamberi knows she can count on getting the most out of each of her employees, even if they are just teenagers.

“When they are here, they are supposed to wait on a customer as soon as they walk up, and they do that,” she said. “They are on the ball from the time they get here.”

Gamberi said she believes that is because the workers she hires, have to be there and aren’t just looking for easy money.

“We tend to hire the students that have to work because their parents require them to pay for certain things like insurance or gas or cell phone,” Gamberi said. “Because of that they are very dependable and hardworking.”

For some, a school job ends in high school, but for others, the work continues through college. That is the case for Keydra Brown who works over 30 hours a week at Zales while being enrolled full time as a nursing student at Louisiana Technical College in Ferriday.

“I’ve been working since I got out of high school,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t know how to handle anything different.”

Brown said the money she earns working in retail goes toward rent, utilities and gas mostly.

“It allows me to have a lot of independence, and that is just the type of person I am,” she said. “I like to do things on my own.”

But with that independence comes a lot of responsibility, like making sure she gets to class, getting her studying and homework done and makng it to work on time.

But Brown said she starts each day with a plan and that helps her each step of the way.

“I have a plan of what I have to do and get accomplished each day, and I have to stick to that,” she said. “I have my work clothes in the car so I’m prepared to come to work after I get out of class. It is a lot of scheduling, planning and preparing.”

Rico Newell, a student at Copiah-Lincoln Community College Natchez student, said his reasoning for getting a job while in college was simple.

“College is expensive and I needed the extra income to make it through,” he said.

He has been working at Sports Addition for a little over a year.

Newell will enroll at University of Louisiana Monroe in the fall to study psychology said his friends are understanding of his schedule because most of them are in the same boat.

“They know that you have to make time for homework and studying because they have to do it, too,” he said. “At least half of my free time is spent on that.”