Student workers emphasize service, connection in the workplace
Whether it’s a way to help pay tuition, a source of savings, or a means of acquiring work experience, for many students at the University of Notre Dame, having an on-campus job is an integral part of their time in college.
According to the Office of Financial Aid, approximately 45 percent of undergraduate students are employed on campus annually. Across campus, the minimum wage for student workers is 15 dollars per hour, with salaries paid bi-weekly through direct deposit to the students’ bank accounts.
The Rover interviewed 30 undergraduate students about their job satisfaction, employment experiences on campus, and the practicalities of working as a full-time student.
According to the information gathered, the majority of students work approximately five to six hours a week. Students were also asked about their satisfaction with their salaries. More than half responded that they were ‘very satisfied’ with the amount they are paid, while most others described themselves as ‘satisfied.’
In addition, students were asked to rate their jobs out of five stars. The students who most consistently rated their job the highest were those employed by their residence halls. Working in both paid and volunteer roles in their dorms, students can serve their halls as resident assistants, sacristans, members of student committees, and even chefs.
Another group of respondents who consistently ranked their job at four or five stars were students who worked in the realm of recreational sports. Working as lifeguards, sports supervisors, and even desk attendants at the athletics facilities, these students are often paid 17 dollars per hour, slightly more than minimum wage.
Many students also pursue a very different type of job: assisting professors with research, working as a teacher’s assistant, or helping fulfill office tasks for academic institutes. While students working in academic roles are more likely to be paid minimum wage, they often enjoy greater flexibility with scheduling and find their work to be more related to their interests.
Sofia Buck, a sophomore majoring in Global Affairs, works around five hours a week as Student Assistant for the Nanovic Institute for European Studies within the Keough School for Global Affairs. She told the Rover, “ I knew I wanted a job that was related to Global Affairs, because I was like, ‘Oh, this will help me know more students or faculty in my major.’”
She continued, “I don’t work much with other students, but the faculty there are just amazing. So as much as I can work with them, I’d like to. They’re just all super nice and super understanding that you’re a student. So it’s been a great job environment as well.”
Students also have the opportunity to work as peer leaders in the revised Moreau First-Year Seminar program. Caleb DeLorenzo, a peer leader from Baumer Hall, told the Rover he spends about four hours a week preparing for class with his professor, creating a personal presentation related to the weekly Moreau material, and building community with students in and out of class.
DeLorenzo emphasized the importance of building authentic relationships with the freshmen in his section, saying, “The biggest thing is that you care. It’s very clear if somebody is just doing this as a resume builder or something. It’s a pretty easy job, in the sense that there’s not that many concrete responsibilities you have to do. But if you want to actually do a good job, you have to put a little bit more effort into it … to actually do it for its own sake.”
Jackie Nguyen, a Moreau peer leader who also works as an Residential Assistant (RA) in Lyons Hall, said the same about her work in the dorm, emphasizing the importance of relationships. She told the Rover, “It’s a beautiful ministry that is very unique to Notre Dame, especially because other schools have RAs just as sort of rule enforcers, or just to keep people safe, which is certainly what we do in the dorms as well. … But more than anything, I would say it’s sort of a ministry of presence, to love students through the best and hardest parts of their lives.”
Nguyen continued, “That’s something that I really love about the job, is that it really is like missionary work, and in the sense that your mission is just the people that you are living with, which is a really unique opportunity. … The idea of a resident assistant for most schools is rule enforcement. But here at Notre Dame, it’s very community-building, and that’s a real gift.”
In addition to the Moreau and RA leadership positions, there are many other jobs that involve students working to assist their peers. Undergraduates can find jobs tutoring students, helping them with homework, and leading study groups in many different subjects through the Learning Resource Center (LRC).
Artur Krutul, a sophomore in Stanford Hall, works as a calculus team leader for the LRC, which offers students academic support through “teams” that meet for 90 minutes each week. According to the website, these “small peer-facilitated study groups” are designed “to support learning in a particular course,” with team leaders selected from undergraduates that have excelled in the course.
Team leaders are paid 15 dollars per hour. According to Krutul, the salary is accompanied by the satisfaction of helping his group learn and grow in community. He said, “The coolest part is not actually the math, but seeing the kids open up to each other and form friendships. I think that might be the biggest help for them, that they know that there are other peers struggling, and succeeding, and overcoming.”
Although classrooms and academic buildings are common places for students to find jobs, others work in less likely locations. Rose Worth, a philosophy and theology joint major living in Lyons Hall, spends up to 10 hours every week working as the sacristan for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. According to Worth, her tasks include steaming vestments, folding, sorting, and repairing church linens, cleaning sacred vessels, and filling orders for weekly supply runs to the campus chapels, in addition to other basilica needs.
Working as a sacristan pays 15 dollars an hour and, according to Worth, is a job that’s also meaningful. She told the Rover, “I am extremely satisfied with my work! My campus job very tangibly serves the Lord as I help care for His homes here on campus. The basilica is never dull, so every day brings a different task for me. Even when we have a hundred chasubles to steam from special Masses, my job has a purpose and I can see the fruits of my labor.”
Serving others in a meaningful way is important for students in many different jobs on campus. Almost two-thirds of student workers identified service as an element referenced in their job application or emphasized in their workplace.
Nguyen commented on self-gift and service as elements essential to both of her jobs, telling the Rover, “I think that Notre Dame is very unique in having jobs like this, that are very attractive because the sort of transactional feature of money, where you do a job and I give you money, is transformed into more of an experiential: learning how to love and growing in virtue.”
“I think that’s truly the fullest sense of the word service,” Nguyen continued, “That you’re not doing it for your own sake, but you’re also doing it for the sake of love, which is outpouring and total gift to self.”
Students looking to apply for a variety of jobs can visit the Notre Dame job board, consult with a professor or advisor, or contact departments directly.
Abby Strelow is a sophomore studying theology and PLS. While she doesn’t have a job on campus, she waitresses at a seafood restaurant back home and now knows more about fish than anyone pursuing a liberal arts degree reasonably should. To discuss great books or great fish, you can reach her at astrelow@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: University of Notre Dame
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