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Working, day and night, to support family

It's after-hours. The next lot of drunk students line up at Pulley Diner to tame their appetites. For employees, this means it's time to get to work. Taking orders, cleaning up, passing out food when it's ready - all tasks that need to be accomplished no matter the time of day.

For Chaz McGary, however, work doesn't end when he clocks out.

McGary is a student from Mason, Ohio who attends Sinclair Community College. He will graduate in 2017. This job is just a step along the way for him.

When he isn't working at 3 a.m., he's studying.

"On my off days it's just school, school, school and studying," McGary said. "But I've got to support myself, I've got to make a living … plus whenever I get the chance, you know, I'm sleeping."

He works 40 hours a week on top of school, and all of his shifts are late night. He also has a young daughter he supports with his job in food service.

"I have to show my daughter a proper role model," he said. "The sacrifice I'm making now it's all going to be worth it in the end."

McGary's social life is hardly visited, with a late night job and class during the day, he says it's hard for him to do much anything else, but it's all "part of the plan."

"My social life sucks because I sleep half the day when I'm not studying or working," he said. "But your true friends will be there for you and mine know I'm trying to make an honest living for myself and prove myself."

McGary enjoys making the best of situations, he doesn't live with his parents, he has bills to pay, his daughter to support and a degree to earn. However, he enjoys his job because of the people he is meeting and the students he gets to talk to when he's behind the counter.

"I'm meeting good people, I'm getting a decent wage. It's not a bad job at all," he said. "It's a learning experience and I'm taking it by stride."

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