By Nathan Poinsette Community & Culture Beat Reporter
Why work on campus?
What are the benefits and challenges?
Meet Ananda Myers
She is a senior Psychology major on a pre-med track at USFSP. Currently, she holds three on-campus jobs: Harborside Activities Board vice president, New Student Experience transfer peer coach and UMatter academic & residential mentor. Ananda lives locally with her parents and commutes to school by car.
Ananda’s why
1. More convenient than off-campus employment
“Going to work and then going to class and then being able to return to work is a benefit. Since I already commute to campus for classes, being able to stay on campus to work and then go home at the end of the night is a plus for me,” she said.
2. Opportunities to make new connections with students, faculty and staff
“With these roles, I can make new friends and help other students along the way.”
3. Not too demanding
“Most on-campus jobs are 9 hours each, so It does not take up too much of my time and fits my schedule better than working with an off-campus job,” she said.
Since she works on campus, there is no work on weekends, which she appreciates dearly.
Meet Steven Duvrge
He is a senior political science major at USFSP. He is a career peer advisor at the Center for Career and Professional Development, beginning this role during his freshman year. His family lives in Ruskin and he lives on campus but does not own a vehicle.
Steven’s why
1. Accessibility
“Since I didn’t have a car, I knew I wouldn’t want to walk or take public transportation to work. Having an on-campus job meant I could get to and from class very quickly,” he said.
2. Accommodations
“Since they know I am a student, they understand that my classes come first, which is universally understood by employers on campus,” Steven said.
Steven also mentioned how they are very flexible with his work hours.
3. Awareness
“You are working with professional staff where they know all the resources available to students. Since you are constantly communicating with them, there is so much information that is being thrown at you. It helps you feel better prepared and more connected to faculty and staff,” Steven said.
Challenges
If you’re aiming to boost your finances, the key is multiple on-campus jobs; a single job just won’t cut it.
Amanda Myers, senior Psychology major on PreMed track at USFSP
Given that general student employees at USF are only paid Florida’s minimum wage, one on-campus job won’t suffice to support yourself.
“In general, off-campus jobs offer better pay. As an on-campus worker, you might find securing the hours you desire challenging,” Steven said.
Another concern for Steven that was a benefit for Myers is that you can’t work on weekends.
If I were to have a job off campus, chances are I would probably put the bulk of my time on the weekends to have enough time throughout the week for class and extracurriculars
Steven Duvrge, senior political science major at USFSP
Directors
Faculty perspective
“I suggest on-campus employment over off-campus employment”
Kyonna Henry, Director of Student Life and Engangment
“We as supervisors know course schedules and when final exams are. We understand you have an academic journey that needs to be number one. When you go to Publix or Target, they don’t care about your course schedule; they could care less about what you are doing on campus, “ Kyonna said.
Student employee
“I joke with supervisors, parents, and students all the time that a student employee is a STUDENT first, “ Lesa Shouse said. “ A student can tell their supervisor that they have to study for an exam tomorrow, and their supervisor would be more sympathetic to that than maybe some large company externally.”