Work Hard, Play Hard

Navigating an On-Campus Job!

Being a full-time college student is a huge time commitment, so when it comes to adding what organizations and extra-cirriculars you want to be apart of, you sometimes have to be selective. Before coming into your freshman year, it is best to sit back and reflect on your priorities. Do you want to solely focus on academics, or do you want to focus on meeting new people and making friends? Do you want to continue a sport or club that you were apart of in high school, or do you want to prioritize organizations that focus on leadership or your area of study?  The best part about the opportunities at Furman is that you do not have to pick just one of these! The majority of on-campus opportunities will provide ways of meeting new people and forming lifelong friendships as well as teach you new skills that you can apply in pretty much any aspect of you life!

Coming in my freshman year, I had priorities: meet new people, make friends, and learn new things (and if I could do these things while making money, that would be great too!) Over summer orientation, I was able to meet with a head of student employment for the IT Service Center, Tracy Landrith. She told me about the on-campus job opportunity of working in IT Service Center. My first response was — I know nothing about computers! To which she replied — you don’t have to! You just have love helping people and be eager to learn. 

At this point, I was sold on the job, and I applied. After meeting with Tracy, I was accepted and started receiving all the info of working in the IT Student Center as a student tech in the basement of Duke Library.

I would get to move in a week earlier than the other freshman to go through a week of training! So exciting and super sweet to miss the crowds on move-in day. I also was able to be a part of freshman software installs where all of the freshman came to the library, and it was the perfect opportunity to meet the new freshman class!

For my school year schedule, Tracy assigned shifts at the help desk according to our class schedules and we were able to suggest how many hours we would like for each week. I am now working my 3rd year at the IT Service Center, and I have learned so much about technology, and I get to help so many Furman student and faculty members!

If working in the IT Center don’t sound like the right fit for you, there are so many other on-campus job opportunities as well! Many students work for housing as resident assistants (RAs), at the Help Desk in the Trone Student Center, or even at the Furman Farm learning the ins and outs of sustainability. But, if you would rather spend your time at Furman, playing a sport, instrument, or joining an organization, there are so many to choose from and so many opportunities to engage and form relationships within the Furman community!

-Claudia