In Richfield, when searching for a bouquet for Valentine’s Day, a corsage for a school dance or even flower arrangements for a wedding, one may find Revere High School (RHS) Sophomore Angelina Camardo behind the counter checking them out at Countryside Florist.
Camardo is an involved student at RHS; she plays in RHS’s wind ensemble and marching band, is on the Junior Varsity softball team, a member of the National Honor Society and helps with the microphones in the RHS auditorium. On top of her school activities she also spends some of her free time working at Countryside Florist in Richfield.
Participating in multiple school activities and also having a part time job can be stressful for students, Camardo explained how she can do it all.
“It is a lot, luckily I have the best boss in the entire world and she lets me schedule whenever. And she totally understands that I have a lot going on so basically I just work whenever I can,” Camardo said.
Camardo explains how a day at work usually goes for her. Since she is not a designer at the florist she is not able to make corsages or work on big projects, but she does get to make the occasional bouquet.
“[My work day] really varies a lot depending on the day. Most of the time I’m washing buckets, always sweeping. From time to time I’ll make a bouquet or two during a shift,” Camardo said.
Camardo spoke about the busiest day of the year: Valentine’s Day. She explained what it was like inside the shop and how she and the other employees prepared for the day.
“We never get lines at work because it’s a flower shop, it’s more of a luxury thing, but we quite literally had a line. It was insane and we were making bouquets in preparation for people to come in. We made different sizes, a whole variety of colors. It was wild,” she said.
Camardo said that her favorite parts of her job are talking to the customers that come in and making bouquets for them. She explained how she goes about making a bouquet.
“The base of it is all greenery. Depending on the price, if it’s over $40, you put in different kinds of greenery. And then if [the customer] gives us all creative ability, no restrictions . . . I usually go for all colors, a few main flowers and then some filler flowers and then something like baby’s breath,” Camardo said.
When Camardo is not at Countryside Florists one might find her in RHS’s band room playing the trumpet. Band director Tom Chiera explained what kind of band student Camardo is. Chiera was new to the Revere district this year so he has only known Camardo for her sophomore year, but he still is able to see the effort she puts into the band program.
“Angie sets a plan for kind of accomplishing her goals and then goes aggressively and with a purpose through that plan to grow. I think she’s an example of someone who puts her mind to something and achieves it and is doing a lot of things really well,” Chiera said.
Chiera stated that Camardo sets an example for other band students and serves as a role model for them. He explained what he meant by that. Camardo gets her work done and does other tasks on top of that to help her band peers.
“She is an example of someone who is not only making sure that she is accomplishing her own responsibilities but willing to lend a helping hand and contribute to the group’s needs. She’s there early, she stays late, she helps set up, she helps organize things and is really just a helping hand,” Chiera said.
In the summer at the beginning of the marching band’s season, some sophomore band students (including Camardo) gifted Chiera and assistant band director Montana Fassnacht plants from Countryside Florist. Chiera explained what he thought of the gift.
“It was certainly a welcoming gesture and I appreciated that in the moment. I am sad to say that my effort to keep a live plant surviving has failed and one of them is not with us anymore, but the other one is surviving,” Chiera said.
Jacob Hermann, a senior band member, went into more detail about how Camardo stands out amongst her band peers.
“Angie’s very energetic, she brings a happy and light spirit to the area that she’s in,” Hermann said.
Hermann also works on the soundboard in RHS’s auditorium and is able to see how Camardo works with the microphones and other students backstage.
“In tech, I know she helps a lot backstage with backstage crew, but for us she’s really good at finding people and getting them new batteries in their mics and getting their mics from them and turning them in after a show,” Hermann said.
Chiera reiterated that he believes Camardo is a good leader not only for the band but also for the whole school. Even though he has only worked with her through the band program, he is sure that she helps to make the Revere community a positive space.
“I just think she is an awesome student and is certainly going to be a big part of the future of the band program but also, I’d say, the school. She’s a strong leader and sets a good example for anyone willing to look at her and watch,” Chiera said.
Camardo continues to showcase her leadership skills throughout the Revere community. Once her Junior Varsity softball season is over, she plans to work even more hours at Countryside Florist.
