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A typical day for 26-year-old Kadene Vidol would include serving customers at Charles Gordon Market in St James and attending online classes.Maintaining a steady balance between her job as a produce vendor and as a student at the University of Technology, Jamaica, she managed to obtain first class honours for her specialty Culinary Arts and Management, for a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality & Tourism Management."I am happy. I worked very hard for it; I've had sleepless nights. My sister, my boyfriend, friends and my best friend at school -Nataki Stephenson - always supported me. They didn't look down on me," she told the Jamaica Observer. Vidol said when her chances of going on the work and travel programme became uncertain at the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic last year, she decided to venture into market vending to help with her school expenses.She said while she enjoys selling at the market, it gets a bit challenging sometimes."You have to run away from the metro [metropolitan] police. Sometimes it's hard and you just don't want to do it anymore. Another time, the market can be nice because the goods are selling," she said.Vidol's stall is loaded with tomatoes, sweet peppers, Irish potatoes and cabbage. She also started a farm at her home in Sandy Bay, Hanover.Explaining how she managed her time in school while vending, she said, "For example, I would have online classes from 8:00 to 10:00 am. Since I would be at the market, I would go inside the bus or find a quieter place at the market, just to be at class. Sometimes the teacher wanted to ask a question and I wanted to respond but because the market has a lot of noise, you can't really respond, but I still attended class."It would be even tougher for her when she had practical assignments."I had to try and think ahead of time. If I had a practical on Monday, I couldn't buy the goods Sunday to sell Monday. I would choose Wednesday and Thursday and give myself time to sell off the goods before a next practical assignment," Vidol explained.The biggest lesson Vidol has learnt since she became a market vendor is to be herself."Just do you. People are going to criticise but you know why you're doing it. While you are doing what you want, also try to help someone along the way. Sometimes we think we are really struggling but if we get to know other people's stor[ies], we will get to understand that where we are in life, we should thank God," she said.