Handling jobs and school work during college can be tough for a student. It’s hard to balance the work-life load when in school but on top of that, some students go the extra step to place work above their growing school obligations. Of course, many students do have to work in order to pay off their college debt and gas isn’t cheap when traveling from work and school.
Sometimes students can avoid working, but oftentimes they cannot. At Elgin Community College, there are many opportunities that allow students to work while in college so students do not have to travel after class to make an extra buck.
Second-year student and international student Marco Adrianzen-Ruiz talks about how holding down a job at ECC benefits him.
“As an international student, it benefits me a lot because I can only work on campus. So, it’s an extra income that helps me to pay my bills,” Adrianzen-Ruiz said. “We [international students] have benefits such as medical insurance as well”.
Adrianzen-Ruiz currently works at the ECC cafeteria where he regularly helps students.
Second-year student and student-life worker Alex Georgiadis says that being a student worker has helped him become more social as well.
“I don’t go out of my way to talk to people usually, so, for me it was beneficial [joining student life] because I can interact with all these clubs and organizations that I wouldn’t have otherwise,” Georgiadis said. “I think that being involved in college and just talking to people that go here more makes me more successful.”
Student-life worker Kimberly Carreto-Durran said there’s room for networking being a student worker.
“There’s definitely opportunities for networking,” Carreto-Durran said. “You get to meet new teachers of different departments around campus, who ask us for help, and sometimes the teachers of those departments give you a chance to learn about what’s going on around campus and an opportunity to work with them.”
The best thing about being a student worker, according to the three workers interviewed, is the flexible times. Time is very valuable being a student who works, so, having a job that can work around your school schedule is something that no student can turn down.
