Buffalo High School started the 2026-2027 school year a week earlier than usual, giving students a 4-day Labor Day weekend. Many students spent their extended weekend at their cabins, enjoying the last bits of warm weather, relaxing, or hanging out with friends.
On the contrary, some students chose to do the opposite of enjoying their weekend–working long shifts at their job; for Ireland Morris ‘27, what started as a normal weekend schedule turned into an accumulation of 52 hours on the clock.
“It was supposed to be a typical ‘on’ weekend, which is a 12 [hour shift] on Saturday and a 6 [hour shift] on Sunday,” Morris said. “We just lost many coworkers going to college or for other things. A month and a half ago, I said I could make up the hours. A week ago, I realized that Labor Day weekend was time and a half. Not realizing I was already working two twelve-hour shifts, I told my boss I don’t have school on the first Friday, so I picked up another 12.”
The hours kept piling on.
“Other people needed shifts covered,” Morris said, “so I picked up even more shifts. I ended up working a 13-hour shift on Friday, a 12-hour shift on Saturday and Sunday, and a 13-hour shift [on Monday].”
While it may seem impossible to get anything done when you work an average of 13 hours a day, Morris was also able to see friends, hang out with her dogs, and catch
up on the week while being at work.
“My shifts went really well; thank goodness I love my job! I also got to work with my friends, so that is always fun. I even had my dogs there with me, and I had some time to get my homework done. It didn’t hit until [Monday], during the last 6 hours of my shift, when I got super tired. This morning I was exhausted all day,” Morris said.
For Morris, this 52-hour measure was never the plan; it was simply the result of one shift turning into another.
“It just kind of happened,” Morris said. “I have a really bad habit of always saying yes.”
