Part of growing up includes applying and working at a job. Employers at popular retail companies and grocery outlets typically hire teenagers for part-time employment.
As many seniors prepare for college, some students are taking the time to join the workforce or continue their employment over the summer.
Senior Layla Trainor has been working as a package handler for the United Parcel Service (UPS) store since August 2025.
“I start work at 10am and I go into work and pack all of the boxes that are sitting out, I mark them, ship them and put them in the back room for the UPS truck to pick them up,” said Trainor.
Additionally, “the packages can be up to 50Ibs, but some of the boxes we get from customers can be up to 100Ibs.”
“Whenever customers come in with a shipment, I have to measure their items and figure out what box size they need. They have to give me their address and description of their items. And I have to see if it’s compatible with an address or country in our system.”
Once, Trainor shared that a customer was trying to send books and jewelry to Columbia, a country with harsh mail restrictions.
“And we looked it up in the system and shipping to Columbia, everything had to be approved by their government. And [the customer] was frustrated because there’s a long list of things we can’t send.”
In that situation, Trainor learned the importance of deescalating a system and how to respectfully educate customers on shipping policy.
One of the most challenging parts of her job includes return items.
When buying an item from Amazon, “Amazon’s system automatically puts a return address to a nearby Whole Foods.”
This can be easily frustrating for both the customer and Trainor because her store does not have a way to fix the problem.
“Overall, I do enjoy my job because of my manager’s flexible schedule, the connections I make and I like helping others.”
Apart from the UPS store, Trainor is also anticipating working over the summer for Marbella Redwood City, an assisted living facility for the elderly population.
