Suburban teens find unique summer employment

Between the three of them, the Hart triplets of Palatine have worked a variety of typical summer jobs. They've been lifeguards and caddies, camp counselors and fast-food workers. They've done yard work and even went door-to-door as salesmen.

But this summer, their work is a bit more unique. All three 19-year-olds are working for Chicago's First Lady cruises, which offer sightseeing tours along the Chicago River and the Lake Michigan coast.

"I enjoy it a lot; it's been a good job," said Jeremy Hart, who works as a deck hand. "I get to be in the Chicago River when I work and being out in a boat is a lot better than working on an assembly line or something."

The Harts are not the only summer workers from the suburbs who have found interesting employment. Others are working a range of positions from space medicine researchers to actors.

Brett Rosenthal, 22, of Buffalo Grove, scored a paid internship with NASA in Houston through the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. After graduating from Duke University and before heading off to medical school, he is spending the summer compiling research to determine how likely it is for certain medical conditions to occur among astronauts.

"What makes this unique is you could do biological research at any university, but all the research here is geared toward the goal of furthering life science in space and pushing the envelope in terms of that," he said.

As part of his internship, Rosenthal said he has gotten to meet astronauts, flight directors and even NASA administrator Gen. Charles Bolden. Rosenthal is unsure whether he will pursue a career in space medicine, but either way, he said his internship is "a cool first step."

Cody Grindol, 16, of Rolling Meadows, also thinks his position -R- working as an actor for RenQuest, a real-life role-playing game at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, Wis. -- is a cool way to spend the summer.

Grindol dresses as a lower-class 16th-century youth with an Elizabethan accent to match. He calls clothing "garb," and fingers "digits," and says "'tis well," instead of OK. Paid in coupons for food and drink at the Faire, Grindol said a lot of the fun of his job is in the improvisation.

"Most people I know ... can't give up technology or can't give up referring to things past the 16th century," Grindol said. "But you learn to play along."

Stephanie Drnek also plays a role for her summer job - that of a pirate. The 19-year-old from Schaumburg is in her fourth summer working at Pirates Cove theme park in Elk Grove Village. Although she started as a ride operator, she now dresses as a pirate to play around with guests and act in two shows each day.

"Definitely, hands down I would say I have the most interesting job," said Drnek said, whose friends work as waitresses and lifeguards. "No one can compare. Everyone hates their job and complains about going to work, but I'm like, 'You know, I actually like it.'"

Brothers Ben and Zach Brown of Mundelein are also lucky enough to enjoy their jobs at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. Ben, 20, plays a cowboy in a country-themed singing and dancing show. and Zach, 19, also plays a character.

Although their jobs are enjoyable, they are also strenuous. Zach said he lost 15 pounds during his first week this summer, despite eating a lot of fast food while working a second job at Culvers.

"My favorite part is seeing kids' faces light up," he said. "It makes my day worth it."

Nora Dombro, 18, of Glen Ellyn, also enjoys making kids smile - something she does as part of her job as a play partner at Brookfield Zoo's Hamill Family Play Zoo. While her friends are working at Dairy Queen, Dick's Sporting Goods and Walgreens, Dombro helps young zoo visitors with crafts and takes them on hikes to search for bugs.

But before taking these positions, many people wanting to escape retail or fast food jobs have to go through specialized training.

Jeremy and Justin Hart had to learn boat safety, engine room safety, emergency docking procedures and CPR before starting as deck hands for Chicago's First Lady cruises. Their brother, Jon, who works in the ticket office, had to brush up on his knowledge of streets, restaurants and attractions in downtown Chicago to answer tourists' questions.

"I hoped I was going to be able to learn more about downtown Chicago, but I didn't think it would be that much," Jon said.

The Harts, the Browns and Dombro agree their current jobs are the most interesting they have held.

"They were jobs," Ben Brown said about his former positions at American Eagle Outfitters and a concession stand at a beach. "But this one is a lot of fun. I look forward to coming to work because of the people and the job I get to do."

What's the most interesting summer job you ever had?

"I worked for the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) North Regional Research Center in Peoria testing retention levels of pesticides in chicken parts."

- Julie Riedl, Des Plaines

"I would say working construction was actually the most interesting summer job. I did residential construction for two summers."

- Tony Varco, Arlington Heights

"I always ended up working helping out in a kitchen at a small business I worked for. They taught me how to cook from scratch, using red beans when you make the beans. They taught me how to be a homemaker when the time came."

- Dena Mitchell, Prospect Heights

"Well my most interesting summer was working at a camp for underprivileged kids in Ohio all summer. It was a mixed-race camp and the kids were little - 3 to maybe 12 - and the whole thing was really pretty cool."

- Martha Bower, Arlington Heights