There are two to three days a week where Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Nicolas Zimmerman is surrounded by a million different scents. Zimmerman spends the majority of his time teaching and being at the school, but you can find him at Bath & Body Works in the evening or on the weekends at the Valley Mall.

Zimmerman began his part time job at the fragrance store around Thanksgiving when he realized he wanted extra spending money.

“[I asked myself] why not, let’s do it and then I did it… Because we all know what teachers make,” Zimmerman said.

His influence for wanting to work at Bath & Body works is because he had no previous experience in retail and wanted to try something new. Zimmerman also thought that it would be a fun job to have.

Like any other retail job, Zimmerman is stocking shelves and working with customers to help them find certain products. One of the biggest parts of his job is being familiar with different scents. This has even caused Zimmerman to have favorites in the products he sells.

“My favorite product right now is Sleep and it [has] black chamomile and essential oils in it. I use that product every day,” Zimmerman said.

While he gets to interact with other teachers and students everyday at his main job, Zimmerman is also constantly doing so at Bath & Body works. Interacting with customers and giving his own opinion of the different scents and lines is where he finds the most passion in his side-hustle job.

“I love working there. I get to meet a lot of people from all over [the] area. I work closing shift 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. When I get to work I’m usually on the sales floor and greet the customers and ask them what they’re shopping for. I also ask them if there are any fragrances they have in mind and help them find the product that they need,” Zimmerman said. “It’s also my responsibility to find them products that they want, but also need, like a good moisturizer especially if they’re a little on the ashy side.”