To the editor:

What does a teenager in Suffolk have to do to get a job?

My son John, a senior at King’s Fork High School, has applied for jobs at numerous places in Suffolk, with no success.

He has created a job within itself by going back to check on his applications, only to be told, “We are not hiring at this time; When did you fill out your application; Fill out a new application; We have your name and number, so we will call you; The hiring person is not here today; The hiring person is in a meeting; Leave your name and phone number, and I’ll have the hiring person to call you; We will call you when the kids go back to college.”

And then John goes back a few days later only see a new teen working there, someone who filled out an application around the same time that he did or even later.

John is very good with computers and will major in computer science in college this fall. He has done volunteer work for the American Red Cross on Langley Air Force Base and for the Youth Summer Program at St. Paul Baptist Church, where he’s a member, and he has worked the concession stand for sports events at numerous convention centers.

John wants to work and get a feel for having job responsibilities before he goes to college in the fall. With all my heart, I’m trying to understand why he has not received any positive feedback, but I don’t.

Gwendolyn G. Smith
Suffolk