Working towards your Future

Many jobs on campus use student employees to help them learn the tools of the trade before entering the workforce.

Source: Marist College

Marist College offers students many different opportunities to find employment on campus, allowing them to work within their fields and alongside industry professionals. Some of these opportunities include working in the IT department, in Athletics, in food services, for Admissions or for the Marist Poll. With so many student-operated jobs on campus from cashier to tour guide, students comprise a large chunk of the school's workforce.

This definitely has its benefits, such as allowing Marist students the unique opportunity to not only work on campus, but also gain experience in practical jobs that align with what they are studying.

Senior Ryan Pepe ‘22, works in Marist’s IT department as an Application Developer. Pepe also studies Software Development.

“If you are a Software Developing major, you should definitely look into getting a job [in IT]. You get to work in the field, learn how to interact with clients and you learn a more field-based approach than what is taught in class,” Pepe said.

Daniel Oakes ‘23 also emphasized the benefits of working while studying something similar. Oakes studies Sports Communication and works for Marist’s Athletics and Multimedia Department. 

“Getting involved with the Red Fox Network and being able to work in the control room is definitely a positive experience if you are interested in the broadcasting side of sports communication,” Oakes said.

This was not the only experience or factor about student employment that Oakes and Pepe shared. Both mentioned how when they first started working their respective jobs, there was an adjustment period in figuring out how to balance the responsibilities of the job and their classes.

“When I was taking more in-person classes in previous years it was definitely a struggle,” Pepe said. “I have to work seven hours three days a week and it was hard to find time to work the hours when I also had classes throughout the day.”

Oakes devised a method to cut back on some of the stress of meeting all of his responsibilities. “I get all of my week's work done on Monday or Sunday before the week. That way if I have a game to work in the middle of the week I don’t have to worry about fitting in time for homework,” Oakes said.

Luckily for both students, and the many other student workers on campus, their bosses realize that first and foremost, they are students. Pepe said that his supervisor, Corely Herman, has been very understanding whenever Ryan has had to leave early or miss a day of work. 

Oakes and I actually also share the same supervisor for the Red Fox Network, Nicholas Skidmore. I can attest from personal experience that Skidmore tells all of his workers that our classes come first. He even lets us do homework while we have free time when we are on the clock.

There are many opportunities for student workers at Marist. Many are geared toward specific majors or jobs, and this lets students apply what they learn in the classroom into real life. Most of these jobs are currently looking for more employees. Getting an on-campus job, especially related to a field you’re studying, is a great way to gain more experience while reinforcing class material – and getting paid.