For some students, the idea of working a holiday is nothing new. From the 4th of July to Christmas, the world of commerce seems to never stop.

However, having been a popular day to go shopping since the 1920s, one day that almost seems like a holiday has retailers buzzing — Black Friday.

Named after the term that businesses use when it goes “black” — or, their profit numbers suddenly skyrocket — Black Friday is a day that marks off the first day of holiday shopping.

Like many individuals who work in the retail industry, senior electronic media student Catherine Eck put on her work clothes the day after Thanksgiving and headed to work.

However, Eck did not have to deal with individuals fighting over TVs, clothes and slow cookers — instead, she sampled out upper-end liquors to patrons at a liquor store.

Working for Studio D Productions, a company that arranges wine and liquor tastings at events and product samples at liquor stores, Eck contracts her time through different representatives from wine and spirit companies, sampling out products to potential customers.

“It is mostly at liquor stores but we will also go to bars and do samples of shots,” Eck said.

Although Black Friday has made headlines in years past due to incredible sales and a seemingly increased number of individuals willing to head out early in the morning for sales, Black Friday has also made news for darker reasons.

According to BlackFridayDeathCount.com, since 2006, Black Friday has counted nine deaths from Black Friday sales gatherings and 96 injuries to customers and store employees.

On Friday, a 22-year old employee from a Nordstrom in Chicago was killed when a gunman with past relations stormed the store and shot her before turning the gun on himself.

Before, in 2012, a man was charged with vehicular manslaughter after crashing his Lexus SUV while driving on only three hours of sleep from an all-night shopping spree, killing two of his daughters. In 2011, a West Virginia Target store made news when a 61-year-old collapsed from a heart condition and passed away later at a hospital — many fellow shoppers failed to notice the collapsed man while searching for bargains.

However, for Eck, this Black Friday did not seem to have anything as crazy as one would think, judging by past headlines.

“I expected it to be a little busier, but today hasn’t been too large of a difference in customers than normal,” she said.

Eck also said that her job allows great flexibility with her schedule — she is a full-time Wichita State student, a mother and also a representative from NAYMLIS, a music production company that promotes upcoming music shows when they come through the area.

“The inconsistent house [of my job] works with my schedule — I can jump in at random times,” she said. “I like that some days, all I have is class in the morning and other days I work both jobs, but I still have my free time.”

For Eck, working Black Friday is not a large issue — one thing that is simply part of working a job that she enjoys.

“I had been working for a music production company,” she said. “I received my business cards and I started handing them out wherever I went. I met this lady who told me about Studio D Productions and that is how I started — it just kinda fell into my lap.”