Students on campus carry a myriad of responsibilities with them each day, like living on their own for the first time, attending class and club meetings each week and staying on top of the classwork they have to do from their dorm. On top of this, many students require money to pay for their day-to-day needs and wants. To fulfill this, students often seek out part-time jobs on or off campus. The Equinox checked in with students to see whether or not they have a part-time job while on campus and why that might be.
Some students have found jobs off campus in town to satisfy their needs.
“I’ll be starting next week at Target,” first-year Brayden McGrath shared. “I’m definitely excited. I went on Indeed, which I’ve gotten jobs in my hometown before from, and I just put in Keene State and it showed part-time jobs available.”
Similar to McGrath, another student who requested to remain unnamed shared that she recently got a job at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Keene.
Some students choose to opt for jobs on campus instead of in town, like first-year Leo Mousseau. “I work at the Redfern,” Mousseau said. “It’s pretty fun. It’s interesting because the schedule is flexible and it’s pretty much based on what they have going on, like shows coming in and stuff.”
“I work in the theater department; I do costumes and stuff,” Leah Machinski shared.
When asked how she obtained her position, Machinski said reaching out to the head of costumes in the department by email got her the spot. “I just emailed the woman who does the costumes. I’m not in the theater department, but it just seemed like fun.”
Sophomore Aliyah Fortier shared that she has a similar position. “I also work in the theater department, but I build sets, and then I’m an orientation leader during the summer, which is fun.”
Fortier said she got her set-building position through the work-study program in her major. “I am a theater major, so it was easy just to talk to my professors that I had in class. With orientation leading, I just heard about it and wanted to do it.”
Other students shared that they don’t have a part-time job and some expressed that they prefer not to have one while being in school.
“I just haven’t taken the time to look for a job yet—with schoolwork I’m just trying to find my spot here,” first-year Cooper Glennon said. “I’ll probably try to get one either after Christmas break or right before.”
“I find it hard to balance a part-time job and schoolwork,” senior Nicole Bellabarba shared. “I think it depends on what year you’re in, too. As a senior, I just didn’t want to make more of a challenge for myself.”
“I feel the same,” said Bellabarba’s tablemate, fellow senior Treasure Davis. “If I tried to make money and spend my time that I should be using to study while doing school, either my grades would slip, my sleep would slip or I would be doing bad. I’d rather get good sleep and good grades and not have a job.”
Serena Taylor can be contacted at
staylor@kscequinox.com
