Who doesn’t love a job that fits with your academic schedule first? 

Seattle University offers on-campus employment to students, which are highly sought after because they schedule your work around when you have classes. On-campus jobs offer students convenience and opportunities to network with the campus. 

Arianna Gonzales, a second-year business marketing major, is part of the work-study program and has worked as a desk assistant on campus since her first year at Seattle U. 

The work-study program at Seattle U is a need-based financial program that encourages students to work on campus, however is not exclusive to students in financial need

“I’m a desk assistant at Chardin Hall. Last year I was the desk assistant in Campion Hall. One of the hardest things while working in Campion was how many packages Campion got every single day, because there were I believe 600 residents last year,” Gonzales said.

Second-year Humanities for Teaching and Spanish Major Paige Wilson is a resident assistant in Bellarmine Hall and has overlapping tasks with desk assistants, such as dealing with lockouts.

Given the social nature of her position, Wilson transformed from being someone who few people may have known on her floor last year to being known by everyone on it. 

“You do feel like there’s a lot of eyes on you and you just have to get out of your comfort zone. Responding to calls and talking to a lot of people all at the same time can get a little overwhelming,” Wilson said.

Obtaining on-campus employment varies in degrees of difficulty. Gonzales stated that she had no trouble getting her desk assistant job last year in Campion.

“I just went up to the desk and I asked the desk assistants if they were hiring. They said yes and then they gave me the application and I just filled it out and I got the job,” Gonzales said. 

Wilson, on the other hand, had a more difficult time getting into her position. After a rigorous application process, she was put on a waitlist to be an RA.

“I didn’t know I was going to be an RA until a few weeks before school,” Wilson said. 

Branndi Bowechop, a second-year psychology major, works at Wellness and Health Promotion on campus. She didn’t find getting her job that difficult because she had already made connections with the center before applying.

“I kind of already went into the application with a relationship to all of them that work there so that was nice,” Bowechop said. 

“What made me apply was the fact that I was in there so much last year, and they kind of helped me find a community and space. They got me more comfortable being here at Seattle U. So I was like, I kind of want to do that too.”

Despite her passion for the center, there are still parts of the job that Bowechop finds difficult, particularly in regards to time management. She opened up about the struggles student employees face balancing their academic responsibilities. 

“It’s very time-consuming, especially the prep for events and they try to keep us to working only 10 hours a week which makes it more difficult,” Bowechop said.

Her job includes tasks such as facilitating workshops and peer-to-peer work specifically,  which has helped her expand her skills and jump out of her comfort zone.

“I have to talk about things that I usually wouldn’t talk about, which is a part of the job of making it more socially acceptable to talk about uncomfortable topics,” Bowechop said.

Overall, they can agree on the fact that on-campus jobs are convenient for students to grow and network within the Seattle U community.

“I wanted to get a job anyways, but I knew that if I did get it on campus, it would probably be more accommodating to my schedule than going off campus,” Bowechop said.

Gonzales highlighted another positive aspect of working on campus, stating that her commute to work is an attractive feature of her job.

“I think it’s a good job for now. Especially while living on campus, it’s an easy commute. I have a five minute walk from the Murphy Apartments to Chardin Hall,” Gonzales said.

On top of having a short commute, Gonzales can get other work done when people aren’t in need of assistance.

“I have a lot more downtime so I can actually get whole essays done or watch movies while I’m working,” Gonzales said. 

While it is possible to find employment off-campus, many students have found on-campus jobs accommodating while they are in the process of furthering their education.