The summer before my freshman year of college, I remember being concerned with one thing and one thing only: making money.
I was incredibly concerned with making sure that I had enough money to go into the school year with because I was moving to the other side of the state, from Flint to Grand Rapids. I was going to an area where I had no connections and was super worried about finding a job.
In the meantime, I couldn’t tell you how many buckets of popcorn I made at my movie theater job.
Luckily, I had an excellent admissions counselor (shout-out to Kori Thompson) who let me know about the on-campus job options.
To make sure you don’t have any apprehension about finding an on-campus job, I have compiled a list of three places on campus that commonly hire students and what you may be doing in those positions: Food Service, Housekeeping and Admissions.
FOOD SERVICE
From the perspective of a previous worker, Food Service holds some of my most treasured Cornerstone University memories.
I thoroughly enjoyed working the drinks and desserts section of the cafeteria where I would make sure to keep cups and desserts well stocked. It also gave me the ability to help out with other sections when mine was well taken care of, which is really what the heart of Food Service is: serving others.
Every position in Food Service is focused on serving the community of Cornerstone through the completion of small tasks that make up the whole of a meal.
Think of it like an assembly line; each individual in the group does a small task that gets passed on to the next to make sure things get done. This can be anything from making sandwiches and keeping the deli freshly stocked to washing pots and pans while others place those dishes where they need to be in the kitchen.
Working at Food Service typically means that you are going to be working more than one particular job which gives you experience in many different areas. Plus, as with all on-campus jobs, they work with your student schedule.
Did I mention that you get to eat for free at every meal that you work? Now that’s the kind of work benefit I can sink my teeth into.
HOUSEKEEPING
Food Service involves a lot of talking to people and creating a social atmosphere. I can understand if maybe that doesn’t match up exactly with what everyone is looking for in a job.
If you’re the type of person who likes to go into work, throw in their headphones and get the job done, housekeeping might just be the choice for you.
In housekeeping, you’ll be assigned specific tasks for cleaning in a particular building around campus, whether that is taking out the trash in Pickett Hall or vacuuming the floor in the Corum. However, you are still a part of a team, so occasionally you may have to switch to other buildings to make sure that we are presenting a clean and homey atmosphere to current students as well as guests.
According to current student and prior Housekeeping worker Logan Wesseldyk, “Students [with on-campus jobs] are able to grow when it comes to discipline and leadership skills. One of the best experiences students have had is building relationships with their co-workers and the residents they see each shift. A huge benefit to students who have worked hard to become crew leaders is the ability to put ‘leadership experience’ on their resumes. As a young adult, these two words can provide numerous opportunities when it comes to job searching.”
Housekeeping provides you with an opportunity to take on leadership positions, along with the ability to be a part of a team. With a supportive team and flexible work hours, this is a job for those who like to serve people from behind the scenes.
ADMISSIONS
When I first decided on Cornerstone as my college of choice, I could not stop talking about it. I was constantly telling all of my friends in high school that they needed to check out Cornerstone.
In the end, I brought roughly eight of those friends with me to college, an effort reached alongside my admissions counselor. It was at this time that I realized that I may have a knack for admissions and ended up working as a student caller for them my junior year of college.
If you have the skills to get other people excited about something and have the ability to help get them involved, you may want to think about applying to be a student caller for Admissions. As a student caller, you would be calling students in the afternoon to make sure they know about certain offers from Cornerstone and talk them through questions they may have.
Probably my favorite thing about this job is the fact that you go into work in the evening. I never had any issue fitting hours into my busy school schedule. You only have to work so many hours a week and you walk away with the knowledge that you’re helping someone make an important choice. What’s not to like?
“It is our hope that students that work on the Admissions team during their time at Cornerstone will grow invaluable skills that can translate to their careers beyond their years at CU,” said Admissions Office Campus Visit Coordinator Collen Cox. “Presentation skills, learning new technology, developing how to manage projects and growth in professionalism are all areas that I see students on the admissions team growing in during their roles within the Admissions Office.”
OPPORTUNITIES AWAIT
Cornerstone understands the situation that many students find themselves in: a need for money and a lack of understanding for their schedule. With both of these problems taken care of in nearly all of their on-campus positions, there’s no doubt of the opportunities that present themselves to students willing to take ahold of them!
For more information about career choices on campus, reach out to our Center for Career and Life Calling.
