SRU offers various on-campus jobs for students to make money while focusing on school.
Jobs can vary from working at Rock Dining, Bailey Library, The Tutoring Center and more.
The Rocket spoke with a few students on their experience as student workers.
Celina Inan is a junior Strategic Communication major with a focus in Integrated Marketing. Inan has been a marketing intern for Rock Dining since her freshman year.
“We have a group of interns that all work together to help promote the campus dining locations. So what I do is their social media, create digital posts for them, I decorate events…TikToks, social engagement,” Inan said.
Inan found the job posted on the app Handshake.
“I definitely think it’s really nice that it’s on campus; I don’t have to go anywhere, drive a far distance. Also I feel I’ve made really good connections with other people, other students on campus as well. I made a lot of friends through my job, which I’m so grateful for,” Inan said.
Inan loves having the opportunity to connect with other students at her job.
Jessica Trauger, a first-year graduate student in PT, discussed working at the Bailey Library front desk. Trauger has been working at the library for three years.
“We kind of just check books out to people, interact with students, point them in the right direction around campus. We answer basically a lot of questions about directions around campus, and then also how to navigate the library website, how to check books out, all that sort of stuff. Then we also have a lot of time to study, which is very helpful,” Trauger said.
Trauger discussed the benefits of working on campus.
“It’s just very helpful to not have to go off campus, because I’m already here for classes. I can pick up shifts whenever I have breaks in between classes, around classes. They are really good with my school schedule, which a lot of other places would find difficult, because PT school is a little bit more demanding with class times, and it’s kind of all over the place; none of my days look the same. So, it’s very nice to just be able to fit in work around my schedule,” Trauger said.
Trauger’s advice to finding an on campus job is applying early.
“Honestly, my best advice would be to apply early. So, if you’re planning on working in August, maybe apply at the beginning of the summer, or if you’re planning on working during the second or the spring semester, apply at the end of the fall semester, so you can kind of get a jumpstart on that,” Trauger said.
Trauger discussed what she enjoyed about working at the Bailey Library.
“I really like my coworkers, and I just I like being able to help out students, because I’ve worked here for a long time. It’s kind of nice knowing all the things that I know about campus because I’ve been here for so long, and being able to help people find things,” Trauger said.
Lydia Aiuppy is a junior Strategic Communication major with concentration in Digital Media Production with two on-campus jobs.
“I work for student employment and payroll, which is where everyone has to go whenever they get a job on campus that is paid through the university. I do our social media and plan our big event in the spring, and then I also work for athletic communications, which is the live streams you see, any of the social media posts that I could help post. I do photography, video for them and a few other things,” Aiuppy said.
Aiuppy feels that on campus jobs are a benefit because they work with student’s schedules.
“Each of the employers on campus know that [the job] isn’t the student’s number one worry. The student’s number one worry is obviously class work, exams, stuff like that. So, it’s super important for students to have a nice, healthy balance, which is why there’s only about 20 hours a week,” Aiuppy said. “It’s a really easy way for students to do it, make some extra cash while staying on campus, especially if they don’t have a car or anything. And there is that really healthy balance knowing that you have something more important to take care of, which is your schoolwork. So, it’s really nice to be able to work on campus with people who understand your busy schedule and all the work that you have to do.”
Aiuppy’s advice for students interested in an on-campus job is to set up a Handshake account.
“The biggest thing about Handshake is, a lot of jobs are honestly posted the semester prior to when they are actually needed. They do this because they’re able to get those resumes in, do the interview process and then hire people so that the next semester they can get started right away. So, the best thing right now, because we are coming to the end of the semester, is definitely start looking for jobs right now, apply to any jobs that you seem interested in, even if they’re not connected to your major, because they don’t really have to be,” Aiuppy said.
Aiupply discussed what she loved about her on campus job.
“I love getting to meet new people working in the payroll office, because these people have become a family over the past two years, and I kind of look at them as my second moms here. So, it’s definitely a really nice experience having people to look up to, especially Amanda. She’s my boss here. She went to Slippery Rock, she graduated from here, she took her Master’s. She’s a great role model to look up to, and she is a great contact. And I’ve met a lot of people through her that I’ll be able to use as recommendations further down the line, and I think that’s one of my favorite things, because I definitely joined a family here, and I will definitely miss it when I leave,” Aiupply said.
