ALLENTOWN Pa.
High School junior Jenn Pinkos spent a day earlier this
month at DeSales University
learning how to stage combat.
Instead of sitting atop a lifeguard deck or grilling
burgers, the 17-year-old decided and her parents agreed her time would be
better spent at The Summer Theatre Institute, DeSales’ four-week theater camp,
where she could earn three college credits, and perhaps more importantly, get
exposure to a possible future career.
“I needed more experience in theater, and spending time
with people who are interested in the exact same thing as me has made such a
difference,” she said.
Pinkos isn’t alone in forgoing the traditional summer job.
For the first time since 1948, when the federal government
began tracking data, the number of teens who aren’t working or looking for work
in the summer has outpaced those with paying jobs.
Fewer than half the nation’s nearly 17 millions teens ages
16-19 or 48.8 percent had or wanted jobs in June, according to data released
July 6 by the U.S. Department of Labor.
