Joe Scheller

Justine Orr originally of Gahanna, Ohio poses for a portrait at her place of employment, Dave's Valero gas station in Athens, Ohio, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. When asked about her work, Orr replied, "I've had to wash human feces and piss and blood off the wall [of the bathroom] so many times."

Maggi Mattson of Columbus, Ohio poses for a portrait at her place of employment, Dave's Valero gas station in Athens, Ohio, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. When asked about what her work is like, Mattson replied, "Even though like this building and job is in a college campus, and it seems like we shouldn’t get that many negative experiences, we get a lot of harassment, and everyday average rudeness.” Mattson continued, “One of the nice things is talking to people I wouldn’t have otherwise, really.”

Christopher Sutphen poses for a portrait at his job, the Stimson Marathon Gas Station in Athens, Ohio, on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. “This place has deeper roots than the other gas stations [in Athens],” Sutphen said. “Cindy and Mark are the owners and they’re constantly in here so it’s got more of a family feel for the establishment. And you can feel it too. As a consumer it’s a bit harder to feel that but when you work at one you can feel how the whole vibe is different [at other gas stations]. One thing I do also like is that almost all of our employees are students…so there’s more camaraderie.”

Hunter Van Nuys poses for a portrait at his job, Speedway gas station in Athens, Ohio, early Monday morning, November 23, 2020. “I’m from Steubenville. So I thought when I came down here with an insulated community it would be like where I was from but better,” Nuys said. “But it’s just a shining turd on a hill with the university. And the university hasn’t uplifted anyone who’s from here, really.”

Dylan Potter poses for a portrait in Lancaster, Ohio, on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. "When it does end up getting slow it starts setting in and the store gets to the point where's uncomfortably quiet and you just wish that someone would walk through the door to buy something," said Potter. "...I came from a little town so I"m used to not many people coming through but when it's close to dead silence it just makes your skin crawl."

Jared Thomas poses for a portrait in Nelsonville, Ohio, on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. "We have no control over the prices. I understand being upset about it and I understand that people have bad days, [but] I apologize, to go off about prices is inane. There's no point to it," said Thomas, on what he wished people knew about working at a gas station.