Summer is weeks away and local organizations are busy looking high school and college-aged employees and volunteers for seasonal work, like the Erie Zoo.


Emily Smicker, the Marketing and Events Coordinator for the Erie Zoo explained, "One of the great ways to get your start here is in our concession stands or in our visitor services areas where you really get a lay of the land, get to interact with guests, and also just spend some time at the zoo ."


The zoo is looking for staff ages fourteen and older, with parent's permission to work May through August. In addition to working at the zoo, teens can also learn about the animals around them.


"You have an opportunity to talk to the other staff here, talk to those keepers, talk to animal care takers, veterinarians, marketing educators, our volunteers, you have such an opportunity to, like, soak up so much knowledge", said Smicker.


Meantime, the YMCA is looking to hire students as lifeguards at several of their locations. Tammy Roche, the Vice President of Marketing and Membership Development at the YMCA explained, "For fifteen years old and above the primary places that we can employ those students is in our aquatics department. So as lifeguards, and as swim instructors, of course, that does require a certification."

The YMCA will help students obtain the certification. They are also looking for food preparers for the summer foods programs. As Roche explained, "So you're serving meals, you're playing with kids, you're helping set up and clean up, and then you move on to the next site. "


Employers aren't just looking to fill paid positions, but volunteer positions too, like at the Hagen History Center.

As Cal Pifer, the Executive Director of the Hagen History Center said, "Those that are interested in all things. We have a lot of them. We're always doing digitizing, cataloging, data entry with the objects that you could see behind me, artwork. And then we're always looking for guides as well in our various museum buildings."


They are also looking for people to help out in their Frank Llyod Wright Office. As Pifer detailed, volunteers are vital in their operation, "Volunteers are the lifeblood of this organization, and they really make the difference in the visitor experience."

To learn more about jobs at the Erie Zoo, click here.

To learn about jobs at the YMCA, click here.

To learn about volunteer positions at the Hagen History Center, click here or call their front office.