Jobs of all varieties have been open to many youths still in high school, most concerning fast food and coffee. Many students get jobs to earn money rather than to have fun.

Junior Ella Moore was able to find employment that satisfied her personal interests for not only now, but the future as well.

“I work at Paradise Aquatics — it’s a saltwater fish store,” Moore said. “It was the end of last year that I started working there, and it’s really funny because I’m the only kid who works there.”

Her decision to work at the fish store was influenced by her passion for sea life and the potential future career opportunities.

“I have a lot of interest in marine biology,” Moore said. “It’s a really competitive field, so having experience and being able to put it on a resume is definitely going to give me a leg up in the future. It also gives me hands-on experience.”

Paradise Aquatics handles multiple kinds of fish, but also other small sea creatures that they fit into different segments.

“There is a section in the corner of the store where there are many different types of crabs,” Moore said. “Sometimes we get in horseshoe crabs, different snails and shrimp. We have peppermint shrimp, cleaner shrimp, you know, all these fancy things — just invertebrates in general.”

Moore is very eager to deal with the sea life involved in her job, primarily because she gets to discover more about different types of animals.

“My favorite thing is definitely whenever we get new orders or packages full of fish,” Moore said. “One time we got in a mantis shrimp, which was crazy and really weird and I was like, ‘What the heck is that?’ It was really cool, and we get to see so many different kinds of fish species.”

While maintaining marine life has always been an enjoyment for Moore, it comes with its negatives as well.

“My least favorite part is definitely cleaning because there are a lot of organisms in these tanks,” she said. “It’s sometimes really gross.”

Her job provides an opportunity to immerse herself into marine biology, a topic she has been passionate about for years.

“I think I actually have always been interested,” Moore said. “It’s really odd because I live in Kansas, and there’s no ocean — but I was that kid that totally would just watch all the different things on TV. I was obsessed with shark week as a kid and I’ve read all the books. [I’m] just super interested.”

Moore also enjoys the aspect of her job where she gets to assist customers in their search for a newfound interest.

“It’s a really easy job,” Moore said. “It’s talking about something that I’m really passionate about all the time and using my knowledge with my own fish tanks to help guide people who are new to the hobby.”