You may or may not have gathered this yet, but an important aspect
of Berry is the education of the “head, heart and hands.” Part of the education
of the hands is the opportunity for every student who comes to Berry to hold a
job on-campus. It’s not required for students to work, but it’s really
encouraged and—I’d say—really beneficial.
During my four years at Berry, I’ve held a variety of jobs. I
thought I’d talk briefly about them to give you all an idea of the broad
spectrum of opportunities!
Student Worker at Enrollment Management – This was my first job. I
worked between the Financial Aid, Admissions and Enrollment Management offices
on campus. This was really interesting because I got to see how the different
offices worked together to ensure prospective and current students had a smooth
college experience.
Ramifications Staff Member/Editor
– Ramifications is our student art and literary magazine. We publish one
issue a semester that’s full of student and faculty’s prose, poetry, art and
photography. I’ve been working in this magazine since my freshman year. As a
staff member, I’d help select content and then I would use Adobe’s InDesign
program to place the material into the magazine. I’m now the editor of the
magazine, which means I do that plus I work heavily in promotion for
submissions and management of the staff.
English Department
Assistant – In this job, I worked with professors to prepare material and
transcribe research. I really liked this job because I could interact with my
professors outside of class, which helped me get to know them better.
Student Designer for
Creative Services – In this job, I worked under the wonderful graphic designers
in Creative Services. I designed promotional material and various campaign
pieces for Berry. This included posters you can see in every classroom with
college policies on them, posters admissions counselors take to schools when
they go to college fairs, and various other pieces for departmental events. I
learned how to use PhotoShop, InDesign and Illustrator in this job, as well as
basics in marketing and design that have been invaluable.
Student
Writer/Supervisor for Public Relations – From Creative Services, I was
stolen into the Public Relations office as a student writer. I write press
releases, work on big projects, and help organize our Shatto Lecture event in
the spring. I’m now the student supervisor, which means I get to oversee the
other student workers in the office. I also dabble in photography for the staff
photographer when there’s an event he needs me for.
Editorial
Assistant/Supervisor for Philanthropic Communications – In this job, I
write pieces with a more creative lean for the Honor Roll of Donors and for the
Alumni Magazine. It’s pretty awesome to be an undergraduate who’s published! I
love this job because I get to look for students with awesome stories and then
write about them. I’m the supervisor in this job now, which means I’m training a
student to take my job after I graduate.
Those are my jobs, for the most part! I’m so grateful for
all the experience I’m getting before I even graduate. Another aspect of
student work that I think is so valuable is learning how to work hard in every
area of your life. For instance, I could leave class, walk to my office and
then be contacting that professor about a press release. I needed to have a
good reputation in my class in order to maintain a good reputation at work. It has
been a level of accountability that has really helped me flourish.
These aren’t the only jobs there are, either! Other
on-campus jobs include:
- Worker at the Child Development Center (an
on-campus preschool)
- Weaver at the Viking Creations Student
Enterprise
- Photographer for Public Relations
- Research assistant for a professor
- Planner with KCAB (the awesome people who plan fun
events for evenings and weekends)
- Dairy worker
- Chemistry assistant
- Accountant
- Tour guide for Admissions
… And a ton more
than that! Whatever your interests are, there’s a job on campus that will help
you grow in experience.