You can tell when it’s about to happen — you’re talking with a relative stranger and then there’s a lull in the conversation, an anxious eagerness in their eyes — “So what do you do on campus?” I’m sure this usually receives an agreeable response, with the addressed student shooting off club after club until finally the two can form a connection, even if peripheral. This is not, however, the case with me. My clubs and activities are limited, but I spent quite a bit of my time working on campus. Far from seeing this as a social or professional deficit, I have gained valuable experience from my work, and I think jobs can solicit as much growth as a more typical student activity, if not more. Not only do student workers — and all workers — deserve the same amount of respect regardless of whether they are on the job or not, but students must also recognize and appreciate that student jobs are as legitimate and meaningful of an on-campus activity as more conventional involvements like extracurriculars or athletics.
First, some students simply cannot afford to not work, and their financial situations mandate that at least a portion of their time be devoted to on- or off-campus jobs to cover the cost of living or tuition. As student schedules are notoriously packed as it is, there often remains little time for much else besides classwork. I get it, though. Saying that I work as an usher or as a bartender at BarHop fails to communicate much about me or my interests. Unless one assumes that I just really enjoy tearing tickets or opening warm beers, the only thing that comes across is that I need to work — and, with 59 percent of students coming from families in the top six percent of the income distribution, that information might make more than a few students feel awkward.
This points to one of the most important realizations I’ve gained from working service jobs here — the disparity in treatment between Emily the student and peer and Emily the worker. When I’m in class or in a social environment, I rarely confront any blatant rudeness. When I’m working, however, students I’ve seen around campus — student leaders, even — often display a level of disrespect that betrays a basic lack of concern for anyone not considered currently or potentially useful. It fluctuates from casual dismissal to explicit belittling, usually if the aggressor is drunk. Despite the unpleasantness of these interactions, they have built in me a healthy skepticism of my peers and others who regularly are condescending to workers.
Furthermore, I think I’ve learned just as much from campus jobs as I could have from general club participation. Though I don’t want this to read like a cover letter, I’ve fostered friendships, patience and all the other professional prerequisites that we expect an activity to fulfill. Perhaps the most efficient way to develop leadership and cooperation skills is to actively lead and cooperate — components of most jobs where you work as a member of a team. If anything, student workers have the chance to gain actual, on-the-job experience that is less common in other student activities. Whereas I initially viewed my work schedule to be a sacrifice of meaningful opportunities elsewhere, I am confident that my time spent working has not been wasted.
Although “I work a few campus jobs” does not sound very revealing and perhaps won’t impress others as much as activities that are seen as more desirable, it should tell you a few things. One, I’ve seen how you treat workers and I’ve noted whether or not you gave us the respect we deserve. Second, I know all those tedious resume skills. Third, how I spend my time outside the classroom isn’t going to be an easy shortcut to what kind of person I am.
Just because student jobs aren’t immediately identifiable with a certain personality type or group of people doesn’t mean that they are any less valuable than a more typical time commitment. More students should realize that their peers who work a job, regardless of the motivation, are doing something just as challenging and commendable as their peers whom they watch perform in a cappella groups or play sports.
