Since my freshman year, I’ve always sought out campus jobs. Being an FGLI student, it can be difficult to pay for personal expenses such as laundry or food (especially if you want to go out with friends and enjoy something other than the dining hall). Throughout my time at Dartmouth, I preferred on-campus jobs simply because they are more flexible with scheduling and many supervisors understand that you’re a student first! All of the jobs I’ve had on campus have been through work-study. The process was fairly simple as Dartmouth has a website called Jobnet where you can look up all the on campus jobs available and how to apply.
Quick Overview of On Campus Jobs I’ve Had:
- My freshman year until my junior year, I worked for the Dartmouth Admissions Office on the Access Team → I spent a lot of time talking to prospective students from marginalized backgrounds and helping them understand Dartmouth and the college application process a bit better.
- Junior year I worked for the First Gen Office, I supported FGLI students at Dartmouth both socially and academically and it truly opened my eyes to the type of work I want to do in the future.
- Senior year I’m working at the library in our Map Room, I have really enjoyed this because it’s very flexible and I get to meet new people and help them with printing posters or map requests.
As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I spent my winter term completing Operation: Find Jess a Job! I had made the difficult but necessary decision to take some time off to gain relevant work experience before pursuing a Masters in Education. So, I spent hours and hours on sites like LinkedIn and HigherEdJobs.com looking for potential college access and success advisor opportunities. It definitely wasn’t easy to juggle my 3 course load (especially as I was completing a capstone project for my Sociology major), my current on campus job and navigating the job search and application process. As an FGLI student, I didn’t really have anyone to guide me in terms of where to look, how to communicate/advocate for myself for positions and how to negotiate salaries. To be completely honest, I ended up googling a lot of things!
I applied for many jobs, often getting the discouraging “Thank you for your interest but we have decided to move forward with other applicants.” It was hard to see those emails and feeling like I didn’t get a chance to even prove myself. However, I also got a good amount of interview opportunities, one of which led me to my job post-Dartmouth! I have accepted a full-time job position as a College Success Advisor at CollegeCommunityCareer (CCC)! I’m so excited to be moving to Houston post grad and most importantly, I’m so happy to be able to continue to work with FGLI students as I am extremely passionate about educational equity, specifically college access and success for underserved and underrepresented communities. At CCC, I get to support FGLI students through their journeys with my passion and previous experiences, both personal and professional.
So although this time in my life was a bit chaotic and challenging, it was definitely worth it and I’m excited for what’s to come! Overall, all of my job experiences have been beneficial in allowing me to have some independence and feel more like an “adult” as I can support my needs on my own. I also have the ability to be able to help my family when I can or give them things they need. For instance, I was able to buy my mom her first ever laptop that she needed for her job and it was one of the happiest moments for me to get to give back to my mom who has been my #1 supporter! <3