“This job is nice because I can do homework and work at the same time,” said Ozzy Mejia while at his shift at the parking kiosk at Stearns Wharf. Mejia, who has been working as a parking attendant for a year, is a student at SBCC, where he is studying to become a teacher. “After working a lot of different jobs, I realized that I wanted a career and to push myself harder,” he added.
Hairstylist Billie Sussman stands outside of Benefit Cosmetics on State Street. A lifelong interest in cosmetology brought Sussman to the Paul Mitchell School and then to Benefit, where she has been beautifying Santa Barbarans for a year. “The best part of this job is my coworkers, and all the chaos on State Street is pretty interesting as well,” she said.