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SUMMER JOBS CAN BE A GREAT ADVENTURE
By Keith Hagarty
 | | --Photos By Keith Hagarty Lights, camera, action! Utilizing her acting and performing experience, Six Flags Great Adventure's Public Relations Manager Angel Aristone steps in front of the camera with friends Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to introduce the winners of the New Jersey Network's Hispanic Youth Showcase. |
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Summer jobs are a rite of passage for American teens, brief flashes of employment that are inevitably filled with memories that last a lifetime. Memories that can help build a future. Few places offer as many unique summer jobs as the Jersey Shore. In this, the first of a three-part series, we'll look at the opportunities offered at one of the world's largest theme parks, Ocean County's Six Flags Great Adventure.
As an 18-year old, recent high school graduate Amber Dimitreadis, Browns Mills, could have chosen any number of summer jobs that were a little closer to home.
But for her, it just wouldn't have provided the same energy, excitement and fun she now covets working as a ride operator at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson.
 | | Lifeguard Angela Owens, 18, keeps a watchful eye on the swimmers in the wave pool at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. |
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"My mom never took me here as a kid," Dimitreadis said with a chuckle. "So I really wanted to work here since I never really came here that often, if ever, when I was little."
In between safely shuffling youngsters on and off the Daffy's Deep Diver ride in the Looney Tunes Seaport, Dimitreadis said she's never worked anywhere where she's met so many great people from all walks of life.
"I really wanted to come here and meet some new people," she said. "It's such a fun environment and there's just so many people you can meet."
While she's worked on different kinds of rides in various areas of the park, Dimitreadis said there is something truly special about working with the littlest park-goers.
"You see the cutest kids in the
world working here," she said. "They're always just so happy
all the time when they see you, which of course always makes you a little bit happier and puts you in a good mood."
Six Flags Great Adventure has been a treasure trove of employment opportunities for high school and college students since the first roller coaster went up in Jackson over 33 years ago. With the Wild Safari and Hurricane Harbor, it is America's largest regional theme park, with 535 acres of attractions on 2,200 total acres of land.
With such immense size comes a wealth of job and career building positions. From hospitality/tourism, accounting, criminal justice, lifeguards, education, promotions, games, theater and performing arts, marketing, food service, retails and so much more, the Six Flags' motto is that employment opportunities abound for those young and old, from A to Z.
"You can start building your resume right now at the age of 15, and continue all the way through until you graduate, and gain experience in any area of focus," said Jason Maxwell, human resource manager of Six Flag's Great Adventure, Wild Safari and Hurricane Harbor.
"When you think about it, Six Flags is many businesses and fields within one big business, and so from accounting to zoology, if we don't have the opportunity, it doesn't exist," said Maxwell. "You can't get that at the mall, you can't get that at the movie theater and you can't get that at a retail location. You can get it all under one roof right here, and your choices are nearly unlimited."
Of the park's 4,000 yearly positions, approximately 30 percent of the employees come from the region's high schools and colleges, with a majority of them commuting from only about 10 to 20 miles away.
When a high school or college student is looking for a summer job, they should look for something rewarding and enjoyable, not just something to pass the time until the fall, according to Maxwell.
"I think the biggest thing that separates us is the opportunities we offer," he said. "When people look at Six Flags Great Adventure, they think 'theme park,' and look at our rides and our attractions. They see that fun aspect of our familythemed entertainment, but the opportunity that lies deeper, just past the surface, is the real opportunity for kids to literally go from high school to college to career."
Maxwell visits high schools and colleges throughout the area to showcase the park's employment opportunities, placing an emphasis on potential employees experiencing far more than what a routine job can offer.
"For instance, if you look at our games and retail operations, it's not just retail and games, but more general business and business management," he said. "That's really how we approach it, and not so much talking in terms of a job and pay focus, but more a career and education focus."
Building Job Skills
With career aspirations in law enforcement, serving as one of the park's supervisors of security has taught 20 year old Chris Mandela, of Rahway, valuable lessons when interacting with such diverse people.
From checking guests as they enter the park to ensuring all visitors have a safe and pleasant experience, Mandela said the role of security is, above all else, to be a notable presence to help alleviate any concerns or questions guests may have.
"We try to help diffuse situations and help the guests as best as possible," she said. "We try to calm everyone down if there is a problem."
One of the most common situations the park's security responds to is handling smokers. With the park's brand new zero tolerance no-smoking policy, except in designated areas, Mandela said responding to and ejecting the occasional guest who lights up wherever they want occupies a big chunk of their time.
"It happens at least around 15 times a day," she said. "There's at least 40 signs you have to pass before you even get into the park, saying there's no smoking, so we want people to know. There's no way to miss it."
For those looking to get into park security, Mandela recommends doing your homework, learn to listen and ask plenty of questions.
"Definitely get to know the park well so you know the area that you're going to be working in day after day," she said.
Rising Up The Ladder
Reggie Richardson, 22, has quickly risen up the employment ladder in only two short years. After starting out as an intern, he is now currently serving as one of three park services supervisors, overseeing the grounds crew.
"It's pretty much keeping everything looking in tip-top shape," Richardson said of his job responsibilities. "It's a very important part because one of the most lasting impressions people get and takeaway with them is how clean everything is."
Richardson believes he's already on his way to achieving his long-term career goal of someday becoming a general manager of a large-scale theme park. While he may be young, he said he learned how to develop a solid work ethic since he was a kid.
"Besides just plain old hard work, if you're dedicated to what you're doing, that's going to show through," said Richardson. "Once you start getting the respect of your employees and your employer, then that helps you move up quickly."
Angel Aristone, 28, has been working at Six Flags Great Adventure for 11 years, starting out as a teenage ride attendant, then moving on as a dancer and performer at the park's various shows before ultimately rising to the administrative field as the park's public relations manager.
"One thing this place does is it really teaches young adults responsibility," said Aristone. "I had a lot of responsibility at a young age. I was a supervisor here in charge of 200 employees, and I did that for awhile while I was in school for PR (public relations)."
After interviewing the park's former public relations manager for her college class, Aristone was offered an internship in the department, with her career blossoming from there.
"I definitely have been proud to move up the ladder in the park, from the front lines to being the manger," she said.
What is the most common quality prized by Six Flags in an employee?
"When I talk to potential employees, the one thing I always notice is if they're outgoing, because we are an entertainment venue," said Aristone. "Guest services is what we're all about, so you need to be able to approach guests and talk to guests and interact with them."
For current college students and recent graduates, Aristone advises gaining firsthand job experience in your chosen field, such as through the park's 200 internship paid and unpaid positions, which will invariably give you a leg up on the competition for any walk in life.
"I always tell them, just get your foot in the door," said Aristone. "Start from the bottom and work your way up. Getting the experience, especially at a young age, is such a good thing to do."
A Summer Of Opportunity
Calling the park "an opportunity oasis" for teens and college students, Maxwell said there's no better feeling than hiring the right employee for the right job and watching them flourish.
"You get so much more exposure, in my opinion, in our little 'fantasy land' of the amusement park business, of the real life and the real world of what's really happening out there," said Maxwell. "Whether your guest is a multi-millionaire, or whether that guest scraped everything they had to get their family here to enjoy one day this summer here at the park, you know that one employee you're looking for is going to make either one of those people have the best time of their lives."
Working with Aristone as a public relations intern, Sean Cesare, 21, said the lessons he's taken from the job have been invaluable.
"It's been a lot of fun," said Cesare. "It's a really exciting atmosphere."
A student at Rowan University, Cesare said he first got the Six Flags buzz after meeting with one of the park's recruiters who visited his campus. Since that time, his on-the-go experiences have afforded him a greater understanding of what working in the media and public relations field is all about- something he never would have gained from a textbook alone.
"You're not just inside an office. You're doing something different everyday," he said. I started off in advertising, but I've taken a lot of classes in PR and have learned so much here, so I think that's the direction I want to go into after I graduate."
Some of Cesare's responsibilities include writing press releases, creating daily alerts for fellow employees and assisting with numerous special events throughout the park. One particular event stood out from the rest.
"Going into the Wild Safari and getting mauled by a giraffe was probably one of the biggest surprises I've had while working here. I totally wasn't expecting that," said a laughing Cesare. "I was sitting in the back (of a car) with a cameraman while they were doing a story for Cablevision on the safari births. So I was holding up the tri-pod, helping out and stuff like that, and since it was out in the open, a giraffe walked over to the car and started licking the top of the camera."
"It's something new everyday."
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