Claudia Sanchez
Staff Writer
With college tuition prices rising each semester, many students turn to jobs, in addition to federal aid, scholarships, and loans, to pay for their tuition. There are currently 6,745 undergraduate students attending USF, and many of them are splitting their time between jobs, classes, and studying.
The university offers many on-campus job positions ranging from working with Bon Appetit catering to assistant jobs in different departments.
Andy Davies, a senior design major, has been working for The Graphics Center for about a year. The Graphics Center creates advertisements for USF events. Davies first got involved with the Graphics Center last year. “I emailed them asking to get involved, sent in a portfolio, and got hired in the spring,” said Davies.
Davies enjoys working on campus because “it creates more of a sense of community, I know who I’m working with, it’s more familiar.” He decided to work for the center because he “wanted to work with other designers and they [the Graphics Center] have a reputation of putting out great work and helping their designers move on to better jobs.”
Bon Appetit, the university’s catering service also offers on-campus job opportunities. Cameron Chapman-Pinto, a freshman international studies major, has been working at the Market Café with Bon Appetit for about three weeks.
“It’s kind of fun getting to see everyone and interacting with people, but it is also a lot of work,” said Chapman-Pinto. He had been looking to work in the cafeteria, but had problems finding an application. The Bon Appetit applications are separate from the other on-campus job applications because they are a separate company. Chapman-Pinto heard about the job from a fellow classmate, dropped his resume off, and got the job a few days later.
Not all USF students work on-campus. Clare Bierman, a freshman environmental studies major, works as a social media manager for Mission Minis, a cupcake shop. Bierman has been working at Mission Minis for two weeks. She found the job on internmatch.com, a search engine for students looking for internships in major cities. Bierman decided to get an off-campus job because she “wanted to get the experience of working in the City.”
“I like it, everyone is really cool, and it’s a really eclectic working environment,” said Bierman.
Some USF students also continue their on-campus jobs after graduation. Sarah Morris, a psychology and criminal justice USF graduate, has been working at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea on campus for four years. Morris said, “freshman year I became friends with Holly Winslow who was the resident manager for Bon Appetit. She told me there were job openings, I applied and I’ve been working here ever since.”
USF’s Career Services Center also helps students find jobs. It often holds Career Fairs to offer students jobs and internships and hosts information sessions with companies to give students the opportunity to learn about certain companies, their employment opportunities, and their recruitment policies.
The Career Services Center also helps students craft the perfect resume and cover letter, offers practice interviews, on-campus interviews, and has developed DonsCareers, a job search database, to help connect USF students and alumni with jobs and internships.
If you are looking for a job be sure to stop by Gleeson Plaza for the Fall Career Fair on Oct. 7.
