Not a normal college job
Many students spend their weekends consuming drinks.
But Grand Rapids senior Kit Anderson spends hers serving them.
“I love the energy of the crowd that comes in,” said Anderson, a bartender at the Blackstone Bar and Grill, 212 W. Michigan Ave. “It’s all people from all walks of life. You can wear anything, be anybody.”
But Anderson said working Thursday, Friday and Saturday is tough because it takes up her entire weekend.
Although her weekends are busy, the job has paid off.
“I feel stable with my finances because of bartending,” she said. “That is why I chose bartending as a job position in a college town.”
Aside from her job, Anderson also balances her role as a full-time student.
“It’s easy to get caught up in work,” she said. “You just have to keep your priorities straight. It takes self-discipline.”
Waterford senior Shauna Dillard, Anderson’s friend and co-worker, said Anderson acts the same way at work as she does outside it.
“We don’t work in the most serious environment,” she said. “It helps her be a good bartender.”
Anderson, an art education major with museum studies and art history minors, recently was accepted into the CMU’s education program.
Most wouldn’t make the connection between teaching kids and serving drinks to college students, but Anderson said it’s all about people skills.
“Whether they’re 13 or 25 ... you have to be a good communicator,” she said.
Anderson said outside of class and work, she enjoys traveling.
This summer, Anderson plans on studying abroad in Florence and Rome.
She used to work as a waitress before becoming a bartender, but Anderson said serving isn’t all she can do with food.
“I love to cook — from basic dishes to baking, to entertaining a lot of people,” she said. “Food brings people together.”
Grosse Ile senior Anthony Barraco, Anderson’s boyfriend, said he doesn’t mind her being a bartender.
“I think it would bother a lot of guys,” he said. “It doesn’t really bother me. Our relationship is above that.”
Although both Barraco and Anderson share busy lifestyles, they try to work around the small things.
“It takes a level of maturity to have a significant other that works in that environment,” Anderson said. “He is wonderful with it.”
