Matthew Barriga
Equinox Staff
There are many on-campus jobs offered here at Keene State College, but none are quite like working at the school gymnasium. The gym offers a variety of jobs to students, from front desk work to personal training.
According to coordinator of intramural and club sports David Sweeney, there are 27 front desk workers currently employed at the gym, as well as roughly 60 other staff members that range from lifeguards to fitness instructors.
While Sweeney’s job doesn’t directly deal with student workers at the gym, he often helps out around the facility when he can, and interacts a lot with workers on shift.
He also said that he works a lot with practicum personal trainers, students who are majoring in exercise science that have the ability to get hands on experience in the gym for class credit. When asked about the staff and overall work experience at the gym, Sweeney said it was a very positive environment.
“They enjoy being here,” he said. “It depends on the area, but they’re all very friendly and they work hard,” said Sweeney.
Gerald Barth is a sophomore and a facility supervisor at the gym, and said that the none of the work is too demanding.
“Usually we’re back here at the desk writing up memberships or swiping cards. I can get basketballs for students and work with signing out the lockers. It’s pretty basic stuff, nothing too hard or crazy,” he said.
Barth also said that the schedule at the gym is very flexible, and students are able to work just the amount of hours they desire. “My schedule is definitely pretty flexible, I pull in a good amount of hours in a two week span. If I need someone to cover there’s usually one or two people who can come in which is nice.”
He said that the shifts are small, typically only ranging from two to four hours at a time depending on what part of the day you work.
When asked why working for the gym might be better than working a different job on campus, Barth said “Personally, I would say working at the gym is one of the best experiences we have for working on-campus jobs. Not only do you have the chance to meet new people coming in the door everyday, you can also get to have a conversation with them about their day or how their workout was. The television’s always on with ESPN so we can talk about sports games. Personally I like it because it beats standing behind a desk ringing up stuff at a register and allows for a lot more open conversations.”
KSC Junior Emily Peach is the senior facility supervisor, and said her work consists mostly of basic things around the facility as well as helping make the schedule. Peach also said that the schedule is very flexible, and that the work is very easy to balance with other activities. Being a member of the swim team, Peach said she has had no problem with balancing her work schedule with her extracurricular activities.
She said that a big perk of working at the gym is the laid back environment and the friendliness of the staff. “Our boss is super nice, we all love hanging out with him,” she said. “My favorite part is working with my coworkers, we get along really well,” said Peach.
While both Peach and Barth said that they loved their work, they both agreed that the opening shifts are definitely the most boring part.
Peach mentioned the fact that most of the staff members even have their own dodgeball team that they often get together with and play around. “We just get to hang out and play dodgeball, it’s great.”
Matthew Barriga can be contacted
at mbarriga@kscequinox.com
