By WILL MCMAHON
Contributing Writer
Joe Russell is a 20 year-old Saint Rose communications major, his full time classification as a student though does not do his actual day-to-day actions justice. He is a lumber yard manager at 84
Lumber where he works 40 hours a week. This balance of a full-time job and a commitment to school may seem a daunting task to some, but not Russell, who shows little stress while going through his day. His labor-intensive work and mental obligations can be tough at times, but also rewarding.
A junior at the college of Saint Rose, Russell commutes to school from the Burnt Hills area, which, on a good day, takes 35 min., but can last over an hour. Though he wishes he was closer to the area, it was a money-saving move he felt was worth it because “finically, it made sense”. “
“[It]kills me that I don’t live here,” Russell said. This is mainly due to how much he enjoys his time here at Saint Rose and its overall atmosphere.
When he’s not a school, however, he is managing the lumber yard. It is a physical job that requires clear thinking. His oversees the loading of flat bed trucks with up to fifty thousand pounds of materials to negotiating between yard workers and sales representatives.
Managerial meetings are part of his duties in which he has to essentially keep the sales representatives’ quota within reasonable terms for the yard workers to fill. This is important because while they are paid an hourly wage, they get a bonus if the quota is filled.
Russell is also responsible for two lumber yard workers while on the job, as well as setting their schedules. He describes his leadership style as more of a friendship with his coworkers and believes that this approach yields the best work. A hands-on approach to training was how he was brought into the company and is how he goes about training others.
Brett Goldberg, Russell’s former trainer and yard manager, recommended Russell for the position once he left, which is how he earned his current title. Goldberg forced him to learn on the job by getting his hands dirty, preparing him well for a job in which getting dirty is a regular occurrence. Russell welcomes the physical nature of his work and even draws parallels to his days as a football player in high school.
Russell graduated from Burnt Hills High School in 2011. He excelled in academics and athletics, playing football throughout his high school career, as well as earning scholarships to Saint Rose for his grades. These years had a large impact on his life, and he attributes a lot of that to football.
“Best thing football did was, it grew me up,” Russell said. The group camaraderie he learned through this tough and rugged sport has been something he has carried with him ever since.
This early balance of school work and physically demanding obligations of sports prepared him for his current responsibilities. Preparation can only do so much, though it takes a certain type of person to handle this, someone with a high work ethic. Russell has always showed signs of this persistence.
“Joe was always full-go. It didn’t matter what the score was or what the weather may have looked like. It really didn’t matter.” said his former football coach Matt Shell.
Russell attributes much of his success to his strong family ties. He references his father as his greatest influence and his uncle as one of his closest friends, someone he feels he could tell anything. He and his father go fishing every weekend and they never let the weather stop them, as they even go ice fishing. They may go all day, or just a few hours, as the fishing itself is just a part of this father/son outing. The whole experience of being out there with his father is a major reason their tradition continues.
Russell also hunts, though his father is not responsible for this hobby. He is the only one who hunts in the family, citing that he is not even allowed to keep the meat of his kills at home. Instead, he has to keep it in a friend’s freezer. Turkey hunting is his favorite but also enjoys the difficulty of rabbit season, saying the smaller more agile animal makes for a tougher shot. The “experience” is his favorite aspect hunting, going back to the camaraderie that develops within a group of hunters.
Though Russell’s schedule may seem impossible, Russell cannot consider living his life any other way. The satisfactions he finds in life all have a common factor. Nothing is easy, work is necessary, but in the end, it makes all of that hard work much more gratifying and fulfilling for Joe Russell.
