By the time the sun begins to rise, most students are still asleep in bed hoping to get an email that classes are cancelled for the day. One student, by the name of Jason Enriquez though, has already had breakfast, made coffee and made his way to work. Enriquez works at the Sherwin Williams Paint Company, and by 6 a.m., he is already preparing for his eight-hour shift at the shop, before he ends his day in a St. Thomas Aquinas College classroom. 

The life of a college student can get stressful. Worrying about grades, staying healthy and a social life is a lot to manage, but imagine being a full-time student with a full-time job. Balancing having a life with staying healthy, having good grades, and studying, while working over 40 hours a week can’t be done by everyone. Enriquez is one of the few students at STAC who is able to make this work for him. 

Enriquez is a full-time sales associate at the Sherwin Williams Paint Company and is a full-time student at STAC. Enriquez is a marketing major, minoring in social media. He is studying to help his father with his painting business and hopes to eventually have his own construction business after graduation. Enriquez sees how important marketing is for a business and knows how essential an education is. He needs to work to keep up with bills and expenses, while he studies to get his degree. 

Enriquez has decided to share one of his busiest days with us, to give us a glimpse of the life of a full-time student with a full-time job. 

Waking up at 5:45 a.m., rolling out of bed to get dressed and ready for work, Enriquez starts his days before the sun even comes up. He makes his way into the kitchen, if he has time, to make some coffee or his favorite: cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. 

“Wednesdays would be my busiest days for sure,” Enriquez says before he begins explaining his busy schedule. “After breakfast I head to work, it’s about a 10-minute drive.”

As Enriquez pulls up to the Sherwin Williams Paint Company, he gets a beautiful view of the sunrise each morning. Enriquez has the opening shifts Monday through Friday. He spends about 30 minutes getting ready, before he officially opens the shop at 6:45 a.m.

Enriquez is a full-time sales associate. His job is to help customers with their paint orders, mix paint colors, work in the warehouse and put away stock whenever possible. He also helps train new employees. 

“I also do about 15 lead gen calls a week, which is when I call customers to follow up on their orders or anything they may need,” Enriquez explains.  

Enriquez works 40 hours a week. After opening at 6:45 a.m., he usually stays until 1 p.m. Once he clocks out, Enriquez heads home to shower. Many people are done for the day after an 8-hour shift, but not Enriquez. He still has an entire load of classes to fit into the day. 

“I have to get ready for my business stats class at 2:35,” he says when discussing his plans after his shower. “I then have a three-hour event based videography class, which starts at 5:35 p.m. and goes until 8:30 p.m.” 

Enriquez is currently taking five courses this semester. This means that he spends between 13-15 hours a week at school four days a week, after his shifts at work. 

“I get home around 8:45 or 9 p.m. at night after classes. I have dinner and do any homework I have due or I end up studying,” Enriquez explains. 

Enriquez tends to get into bed around 11 or 11:30 p.m. each night. He emphasizes the importance of sticking to a schedule and getting things done ahead of time. 

“Some days are harder than others,” he says, “I try to get all my school work done between Monday and Tuesday, if I can. I try to not leave any school work for the weekend, so I can just enjoy some time off when I’m not working.”

Being a full-time student with a full-time job isn’t meant for everybody. You have to be well organized, dedicated and good at time management. Early mornings and late nights each and every week, with no real breaks is challenging, but Jason Enriquez has done an amazing job making it work for him.