It is not uncommon for high school students to get jobs around the age of 16, and that is evident in the student population at De Soto High School. However, a number of students have decided to work in one place in particular, Target. So the question is, what makes Target such a good place to work?

A majority of students who work at Target live in western Shawnee. They work at the store located off of Shawnee Mission Parkway. This is true for both senior Andrea Herrera and junior Mya Conley.

Herrera, who works as a cashier, likes working at Target and especially enjoys the relationships she gets to make with others while working.

“I’ve been working at Target for almost two years now,” Herrera said. “This is my first job, and it’s been amazing so far. My co-workers are some of the best people I’ve ever met, and my managers are so understanding and flexible with my schedule.”

Conley was initially drawn to the store for their high starting pay and as an opportunity to get experience pursuing something that interests her.

“Well the starting pay being 12 [dollars an hour] was why I started,” Conley said. “I also started because I could work in beauty, which has always interested me. I really like helping people find things in the store and helping them out in the beauty department.”

Like Herrera, Conley enjoys the friends she has at work and the community the job has given her.

“I stayed there because the work environment was really fun and because of the friends I made there,”  Conley said.

Junior Colin Campbell no longer works at Target but still values the time he spent working there. He worked in sales and enjoyed the interactions with customers he had in that position.

“The work environment at Target is very hands-off on the sales floor and they really take advantage of personal skills. Target’s new ‘Guest-Centric’ initiative really promotes team members to interact with people and that was my favorite part of being a part of the Target team,” Campbell said.

Campbell also made meaningful relationships with his co-workers and enjoyed the community of Target stores.

“There were also many like-minded people on the team that really helped me out,” Campbell said. “One time a guy in the electronics team with me helped me with my Pre-Calc homework, and I thought that was amazing.”

Not all students work at the Shawnee location, however. Senior Aylin Rocha works as a cashier at the Target in Olathe on 154th St.

Rocha also was initially attracted to Target for their high salary, the convenience of its proximity to her home as well as the employee discounts.

“I shop there a lot, but now that I work there, I get 10 percent off everything but 20 percent off the healthy living stuff,” Rocha said. “Target does that because they wants to promote a healthy lifestyle.”

Rocha agrees with Herrera, Conley and Campbell, and said her favorite part of being a Target employee is the people she gets to be around.

“My favorite part of working at Target is all the new friends I’ve made and how nice everyone is there. I feel so loved there,” Rocha said.

Overall, between the perks of competitive pay, a strong community of employees and employee discounts, Target has been a very enticing place to work among DHS students.

“Going to Target was always the best part of my day and that’s why I loved working there,” Campbell said.