Close your eyes and think about your daily schedule for a minute. You scrape yourself off the bed, maybe take some Advil to get over your unnecessary hangover from a Wednesday Margarita night. Or maybe you chug some coffee, hoping that you will survive after an all-nighter. You go to class, eat lunch, get back home and complain about a professor. Do homework, get ready for a party or order Chinese food to watch some good old American TV. Then go to bed exhausted.
Now add at least eight hours of a part-time job.
Student employees achieve this feat on top of all the daily hassles of a regular college student. And what is even more impressive is that they make money.
These students are immersed in almost every kind of job available on Grounds -- bus drivers, University Bookstore cashiers, Pavilion XI employees -- and have become the backbone of the University's service industry.
"They are great when you need to get to class quickly or if you are in crazy need of smoothies at the Pav," said first-year College student Sara Muir. "I really don't think the school would work as well if students didn't work."
The library is probably one of the places where student employees matter the most. Lindsay Doyle, a fourth-year College student, is one of the many University students who work at the Clemons Library Media Center.
"I have been working since my second year and on campus since last year," Doyle said. "I like this job because it is not too demanding and you also feel useful."
Doyle also pointed out that the closeness of the library to Grounds impacted her view of the job.
"I liked my job off Grounds on Barracks Road, but I like that I can just walk to and from class here," she said.
Eric Jernigen, a bookstore employee and third-year College student, agreed that proximity is a factor.
"The fact that my job is close-by really makes a difference," he said.
But not all student employees are as lucky as Doyle and Jernigen. Bryan Leach, a first-year College student, found that the trek he had to make to work each day was too taxing.
"I was working at the Medical Center and I had to take the bus all the time," Leach said. "I quit because it took me too much time to go there and come back only for two hours of work."
Many students agreed that it is more convenient to work on versus off-Grounds.
"I worked at Greenberry's on Barracks Road and I liked it," Doyle said. "But here the employers are more understanding about your schedule."
Edgar Fernandez, a first-year College student who currently works with Aramark, confirmed this assertion.
"Here we have such flexible hours," Fernandez said. "They are very understanding about our exams and even social life schedules."
Even though the employers on Grounds tend to be very cooperative and willing to work around the schedules of their student employees, keeping up with schoolwork still poses a challenge for University students who choose to work.
"I am an art major, so I don't have a lot of exams," Doyle said. "But it still is hard to balance sometimes."
First-year College student Vicky Powell said she quit her job at Observatory Hill due to the demands of her classes.
"I worked at O-Hill for three months until it got to be too much and I felt it interfered with my schoolwork," she said.
Leach also said he had the same issues with his job at the Medical Center.
"It was your typical first-year job of photocopying, so it didn't really allow me to study as much as I'd like to," he said.
Despite the difficulties students face while balancing working and studying simultaneously, they all agreed on the positive aspects of having a job.
"I basically did it for the money," said Powell. "Eight dollars an hour really wasn't bad."
Fernandez also commented on the good pay.
"I make smoothies for couple hours a week and the money I make with that helps me pay for so many additional things my parents wouldn't be interested in paying for," he said. "You know, like phone bills and bar tabs."
Even the students who are not currently employed said they are lured by the good pay.
"I really am interested in finding a job," Muir said. "I definitely could use the money."
The money really does make a difference in students' decision to work, but there is more to the benefits of a job than green bills adorned with Ben Franklin.
"By working you have a great transition between the support of your parents and yourself," Doyle said. "You are not a cold fish out of the water when you graduate."
Many students also mentioned the future ramifications of the work experience they gain.
"Aramark, for example, is a big corporation, so it is good for you to have a good work record with such a firm," Fernandez said.
Doyle agreed, citing the benefits of adding prior experiences to a resume.
The social aspects of the jobs also make them more appealing to students.
"In the service industry you meet a lot of people," Doyle said. "Especially when I was working off campus, it was an advantage to have a community perspective and be around people who are not students."
Working on Grounds allows for frequent contact with friends as well.
"I am a first year, and when I am cashiering at the Castle, I always see my friends," Fernandez said. "It's good to see familiar faces frequently."
In addition to the frequent encounters with friends and other students, Powell also mentioned how she came to appreciate the dining services staff.
"Now when I leave the waffle machines dirty, I know how it feels to clean it up afterwards," she said. "It really makes me feel more conscious."
Powell also pointed out that she still wants to find a job even though she quit her previous one.
"I have always worked, so I liked working at O-Hill even though it got really hot and the floors would be sticky," she said. "I definitely would want another job."
Whether in a bus or at the Treehouse, many students are working in order to make the University's infrastructure more efficient and to make some extra cash -- with some occasional additional perks.
"I loved it best at Halloween when I dressed up as a sorceress at O-Hill," Powell said. "The looks on people's faces when I was giving them dessert was remarkable."
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