Feauture Story

Balancing Books and Bills: Student Mastering Full-Time Work While Pursuing a Degree

(DENTON, Texas – Sept. 11, 2025) The bus vibrates under Kira Vollien as the Texas sun beats down from above. There are still a few more hours left in the day. Vollien, who uses they/them pronouns, checks their watch again. Their day has been a revolving door of students to pick up and drop off. Vollien can only focus on one thing, that assignment. The one due just before midnight. However, there is one issue - they’re still at work and can’t get off until all the student arrived at their destination.

This is the constant challenge for Vollien, who is a full-time student at North Texas Central College, who is also a full-time bus driver for Denton County Transportation Authority. It is a never-ending battle to meet deadlines at both work and school. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics roughly 40% of college students are employed full-time. Vollien is one of them.

“Unfortunately, it has impacted me negatively...and if anything changes even slightly, I might work even longer.”.

The long hours behind the bus’s wheel has had an impact of Vollien’s academic performance. Vollien doesn’t want to drop out; however, something as simple as rain can make their day longer.

According to a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, students who work over 20 hours per week reported a negative effect on their grades. The study also found that students who work over 20 hours a week were 2.5 times more likely to drop out.

During a particularly rainy day where their bus began to leak, it wasn’t safe to keep students on board, so another bus had to be brought in to get students’ home. And that took time. A lot of time.

Vollien confessed that it isn’t all bad. Their schedule has many upsides. For example, they get about two hours for their lunch break. They use those free moments to complete assignments before going back to work. When juggling two full-time obligations, students have to learn how to make it work.

“One big thing I learned while working and going to school full-time is definitely time management,” Vollien says as the past reflected in their eyes. “It’s important to have a good schedule when you’re doing two intense things. It’s about making sure you’re hitting those deadlines.”

Vollien believes that the things they learned from work relate to school, for instance, time management. For Vollien, that didn’t just mean going to work, or getting schoolwork done. It also meant knowing when to take breaks for life. During Vollien’s free time, they often played video games or spent time with friends.

Vollien’s biggest supporters are their coworkers and friends. Once a week, they meet with their friends, and they spend a few hours at their favorite coffee shop studying. This helps them stay motivated and keeps them focused.

Vollien pushed themself to work and go to school because they wanted a better job. Vollien expressed that chasing self-improvement was their goal. They hope to achieve this by working hard and earning their degree in video game design.

It’s about balance in your personal and educational life. Creating support, having time management skills and taking time for yourself. The best way to ensure success is by planning for long-term success.

Vollien is a nontraditional student who came back to school to pursue their passion for video games, and their entire face brightens up when thinking about that dream job. The challenges of being a full-time student and employee are all in an effort to make their hard work worth it.

“I don’t even care if I’m at the bottom tier when I start,” says Vollien. “My dream is to work for Nintendo.”

The workload is just a starting point for Vollien. They intend to push through in the hopes of making their wish come true.