Padua's summer work crew was an experience that I will never forget. I am probably the only person who did not mind spending three summers in the sweltering heat of Padua Franciscan High School instead of sleeping in and relaxing in air conditioning.

I worked at Padua for three years doing various, usually disgusting, jobs. I have experienced scrubbing toilets and urinals, scraping gum off desks, cleaning fifty years of dust from behind lockers, painting classrooms, and many other jobs because of work crew. I would cringe and complain, but eventually do these jobs. The part which made work crew so memorable was not the gross jobs that I endured, but instead all of the fun I had with my coworkers.

The first year of work crew, the only person I knew was my sister. I stuck by her side and did not really talk to anyone else. By year two, I knew the crew pretty well. We had divisions between the new and old people on crew as well as between the people who would actually do the work we were given. The second year of work crew was by far my favorite. We would do our work, but we also had some free time to have fun. My work crew squad and I would play games such as hide and seek, Pictionary, and The Resistance or jam out to music and have a dance party. I have so many memories from this year of work crew and got to spend a whole summer with some of my favorite people, while getting paid. My last year of work crew was different since instead of working with my sister, I was able to experience working with my brother. Many people who were on work crew the second year had either graduated or quit, so the atmosphere was different. We all managed to have a fun summer, even playing mini-golf and getting ice cream after work ended.

I am so blessed to have been able to be a part of Padua's summer work crew because I was able to make money while still having fun and making memories with my friends.