Second Shift: Driven by motivation

Our Second Shift series features people working more than one job and finding creative ways to make money. This week, meet a 20-something who is driven by her motivation to help others. Want to be featured? Email Emily.Laurence@metro.us.

The Stats
Name: Christine Salinas
Age: 24
Residency: Astoria, Queens
Lives with: One roommate
Number of jobs: 2

Briefly describe your two jobs.

Monday through Friday, I work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at a family investment firm. And on Fridays and Saturdays, I work as a bottle server from 9 a.m. to 5 a.m., so I get home around 6 a.m.

Are you working both jobs to make ends meet?

I use the money from my office job to sustain myself. The money I earn from my second job I give to my mom. … I’m a first generation American and I’ve seen all the women in my family work really hard. If they can do it on much less, then I can help them out and work as much as they did.

Volunteering is also a big part of your life.

Yes. I volunteer at several places during the week, after I get off work. I do legal translation for youth immigrants with St. Lutheran’s Church. I work with witness.org doing transcriptions. I volunteer with family court downtown, working as a child care worker while survivors of domestic abuse attend an empowerment class. I also tutor a student, though I do that for a fee.

How do you find places to volunteer?

My passion is legal services and helping those in need. So I just Googled —a lot! — to see where I could do that. I looked for places with flexible hours since I work during the day. There are many organizations that need help on weekends and at night. It’s just a matter of searching until you find them.

You already work so much. Don’t you just want to go home during the week and watch TV?

Yes, I do. But I’m determined not only because it’s my life passion to help those in need, but because I’m working toward a certain goal. I want to go to law school so I can eventually become a non-profit lawyer. A lot of my friends and family say to me, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ But if you find something to motivate you to work hard, anything is possible.

Follow Emily on Twitter: @EmLaurence