By Paul Kurtz

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) — The City of Camden has announced that it is accepting applications for hundreds of summer jobs.

Naderia Austin, 17, was one of the first in line to grab an application outside the Isabel Miller Community Center.   What is she hoping for?

“A lifeguard position,” she tells KYW Newsradio.  “You’ve just got to bring certain requirements and know how to swim.  And I know how to swim.  I helped somebody before — that’s why I want to take the position.”

A variety of positions are available for both teens and adults, with pay ranges between $7.25 and $15.00 an hour.

But Art Thompson, Camden’s acting director of human services, says the jobs also carry a host of invaluable life lessons for the teenagers who get them.

“They gain mentors, they create alliances with adults,” he notes,  “so realize that if they want the material things in life, they have to get an education so that they can earn the funds to purchase them.”

Applications are being accepted through May 25th.