Students find summer work at Valley Stream park

It’s fun in the sun for several seasonal workers at Hendrickson Park — a popular place to earn some cash for high school and college students.

At the park’s walking path entrance on a recent summer afternoon, 20-year-old Ben Walsh peacefully surveyed the area, and remembered the hectic July 4 weekend. Ben worked in the turnstile area for the pool, and the crowd was the biggest he had ever seen. There were several hundred people, he estimated, wanting to cool off. He chalked it up to the holiday. “People enjoy it more,” he said.

Like other seasonal workers, Ben rotates around the park. Working in the office is like doing customer service — issuing pool passes and making sure patrons are residents, he said. The soon-to-be senior at the University of Buffalo spent two summers working at Hendrickson, and another two summers before that at the Barrett Park camp. There are mostly young, college-age and friendly kids that work in the village during the summer, a great part of the job, he added.

A group of seasonal workers greet patrons at the pool entrance. Despite the slightly humid air one recent afternoon, staff members, including 19-year-old Valerie Scaglione, were smiling. The West Connecticut State University student was the first face that patrons saw. With a lighthearted disposition, Valerie welcomed them. “You always make sure people have passes,” she said, “and the pool is always clean.”

Working her fourth summer there, Valerie is happy to have flexibility in setting her hours each week, she said.

And there are a countless number of hours worked by seasonal employees each summer. There are a total of 56 seasonal and 90 part-time workers at Hendrickson, including the pool, mini-golf course, handball, tennis and basketball courts, office and turnstile, according to Village Clerk Bob Barra. New recreation attendants are paid between $7.94 and $9.12 per hour, and village workers ages range from 16 to 76 years old.

There are an average of 315 year-round full and part-time workers, and 218 summer employees throughout the village. More employees were hired to work less hours — a result of the bad economy, Barra said.

One of them is Raymond Tejada, a 20-year-old Valley Streamer. The mini-golf course was quiet late on July 18, but nothing about Raymond’s passion for the job followed suit. He loves the job flexibility and the easygoing nature, he said. “Nothing is ever too serious,” he joked, adding that everyone is easy to work with. The soon-to-be junior at Stony Brook University has worked here for the last three summers and supervises other employees.

Seventeen-year-old Brian Cully is spending his second summer at Hendrickson. The Kellenberg Memorial High School student will soon be a senior, and said he can add this job to his resumé. He said he does whatever is needed at the pool complex, including cleaning up. Nothing memorable has happened yet this summer, but he appeared optimistic about its possibilities.

The summer employees will continue their jobs until around Labor Day.