Ethan Lutz thought he was all set for the summer, with plans for an internship at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Luke Watson-Sharer planned for a summer with the National Park Service.

Sarah Nano, a student at Northeastern, thought she was going to begin her school’s co-op program with a startup biotech firm in Somerville. Meanwhile, Eric Coviello sought summer jobs with first a construction company and then at the lumberyard where he previously worked.

Then the coronavirus hit.

Lutz’ internship was canceled, as was Watson-Sharer’s, and Nano’s. Coviello, who is studying construction management, never heard back from the builder, and the lumberyard was only open part-time.

“I know a bunch of friends who spent a big chunk of time applying for jobs and internships. A lot of them were canceled or changed irrevocably,” said Lutz, 21, a student at Clark University.

“North of 90% of friends lost positions they had lined up for the summer,” said Jacob Freedman, a junior at Middlebury College. “Now no one’s hiring.”

Watson-Sharer, 21, said he started his job search early, submitting more than 60 applications for jobs and conducting interviews while he spent the last semester in Spain.

He was still nervous.

“Everything felt bleak when coronavirus hit hard in very early March,” Watson-Sharer said.

For college and high school students, the summer internship or job is a crucial part of their education, giving them real-world experience and skills to put on their resume, a taste of the working world, and - for many - money that helps pay for tuition, rent, and a social life.

But coronavirus has thrown a wrench into many plans, shutting down job opportunities or making them uncertain. Meanwhile, students are home from shuttered campuses and programs looking for something to do.

“I withdrew from classes, and then just started thinking immediately, what should I do for the summer, how do you find a job or internship to do,” said Freedman, who had been just about to start a study abroad program in Argentina when the coronavirus hit.

Coviello remained at home in Hubbardston when Roger Williams University went online after spring break.

“At the time it sounded good because I like being home with my family,” Coviello said. “But then I realized I wouldn’t be able to hang out with my friends ... I just would be sitting at home doing online school, and I wasn’t too thrilled after a few days.”

But with businesses and campuses closed, many of the students interviewed said they had to be flexible and scramble, making very different plans than they anticipated.

Coviello, for instance, found work at the Agway in Gardner.

And there are some drawbacks.

Lutz spent April working as an EMT in Queens, New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

It was a job he has done for several years in Worcester, and Lutz is now back home in the city. But as people remain at home, there are fewer medical transports and less demand for ambulances and EMTs, so Lutz is now only working 20 hours a week. In previous summers, he said, he would work 40 to 70 hours a week.

Watson-Sharer, a geography major at Clark and a Philadelphia resident, is spending his summer working remotely for a geographic information systems consulting company in Washington, D.C. While it saves on rent, Watson-Sharer noted it was not the typical job or internship experience.

“It’s not like a typical job at this point or what Americans consider a job in the commute sense, dressing up a lot of days ... when I’m just wearing a T-shirt,” Watson-Sharer said. “You don’t get the same type of networking or interpersonal relationships.”

Things are still undecided for several students interviewed.

“I’m currently on summer classes until the end of June, then hoping to do research on campus - if it opens up. Things are a little up in the air,” said Nano, 21.

Nano said a professor had approached her about doing lab research when the co-op opportunity fell through, but there remain some unknowns. For instance, her on-campus housing depends on whether she would be needed as a resident adviser (a second job that she has) during the summer, and the hours are not yet set as to being full- or part-time.

An ardent nature lover and geography major, Freedman began helping out the Greater Worcester Land Trust with a few programs this spring. “It’s not even really an internship,” Freedman said, laughing.

But he hopes to head to Seattle in July to join the Wilderness Society creating a toolkit or curriculum for mapmakers to use to create more culturally aware maps that incorporate underrepresented voices in land conservation. Or the job, which starts Monday, may remain remote.

The uncertainty doesn’t just affect the potential employees.

“The only part of the business that is open is golf. There’s no driving range, restaurant, and events, of course,” said David Frem, general manager at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club.

Frem said he normally hires nearly 50 high school and college students as part of a crew of around 150 people who work at the golf course in the summer. This year, he hopes he will be able to bring back 75 or so total employees, but that hinges on Phase 2 of the state’s reopening, the details of which Gov. Charlie Baker announced Saturday.

“The amount of jobs for new people is probably small,” Frem said.

Dave Peterson, general manager of the Worcester Bravehearts, was also waiting for the reopening.

Peterson said he hopes the league will be able to hold games beginning around July 4, but it is unclear from the state how many fans would be allowed in the ballpark and thus how many staff would be needed. Peterson said he hired 10 people in March in anticipation of the season but has since had to tell them that he is not sure whether regular hours will be available.

But whatever staff the organization hires, there will be fewer than the 23 people Peterson hired last year.

“We’re contracting positions quite a bit, and I don’t know if there will be any openings once I bring back students who have worked for us in previous summers,” Peterson said. “We just don’t know right now.”

All of which makes the students interviewed feel pretty lucky about having found a job.

“Mostly getting shut down was tough, but then I finally found this job (at Agway in Gardner) so that was a relief,” said Coviello.

Nano agreed.

“It’s the best situation out of what could have happened,” she said, noting that the opportunity to perform lab research will help in her graduate school applications. “I have a lot of friends who are either not working or still looking for positions.”