Kevin Jackman
Multimedia Editor
Senior Spiros Angelakos is similar to many students on campus who attempt juggling a full-time school workload, multiple sports and an active social life. A transfer from Ripon College three years ago, Angelakos has become heavily involved in campus life. Between his schoolwork, sports meets as well as the many events and groups on campus, time for a job appears thin. But with jobs ranging from shuttle driving to tutoring to grounds-keeping, North Central College offers students options when it comes to making money.
Inspired by his dream of saving up for a cruise line trip following graduation, Angelakos began searching for a job on campus at the beginning of the school year. Angelakos received an opportunity to work as a shuttle driver for North Central students after a fellow track and field teammate recommended him for the job.
Intending to pursue a career in sales and life insurance upon graduating, the chance to drive a van is more than it appears.
“It’s exciting because I get to meet new people. Plus it allows me to learn to relate to other people easily and from a salesman’s point of view you learn how to small talk,” Angelakos said.
Angelakos spends 17 hours a week washing and cleaning the shuttle in addition to checking air pressure, getting the oil changed and gassing it up. These may be mundane tasks but it’s worth it for Angelakos.
“I would definitely recommend people to work for the shuttle because the money is great. You get more here because of the tax exemption. They only take five percent off your pay check.”
Much like Angelakos, Senior Matthew Havey was looking to earn some cash while maintaining his full-time student status. Havey started working for grounds keeping back in the fall of 2011. After a full year abroad in Germany, Havey has returned and watched his hours working for the college increase to 29 per week, 29 hard earned hours.
“I collect garbage, shovel dirt, snow and drainage muck. I rake leaves, tear out concrete fixtures that are no longer wanted and mow lawns. I also trim bushes,” Havey said.
Unlike Angelakos though, Havey sees an unfair discrepancy between the work he does compared to other workers at the school despite equal level of pay.
“Well ground crew come in often on Saturdays and Sundays during the winter. This is much harder work than mopping the weight room or checking out basketballs but I get paid the same [as those workers]. It seems unfair.”
Another section of on-campus employment is tutoring. So if you are having problems with your homework that has to do with the principles of micro or macroeconomics, you head to Kaufmann dining hall for EDGE and Senior David Weber is waiting there ready to rescue you.
Weber wants to be an analyst and it doesn’t matter what kind to him. He’d be fine with being a pricing analyst, market research analyst or quantitative analyst, but for now Weber shares his passion for numbers with his fellow students.
“For me personally, being able to relate to other people and learn their background is interesting. Also you get better at explaining things in detail which is useful when you go into your profession and have to be able to explain what you do or how you came to the conclusion you came to,” Weber said.
While Weber spends only two to six hours a week at the EDGE program tutoring students, he finds great benefits from the experience, benefits that he suggests other students taking advantage of.
“The EDGE program is great because they have every subject there and there’s a ton of people. I would recommend every student to EDGE. It gives every student, tutor or tutee, the opportunity to fine tune your own skills,” Weber said.
With so many opportunities at North Central College, the experiences are seemingly endless. If you are interested in working on campus you can head to the school’s site, noctrl.edu, and click on the employment link at the bottom of the homepage. From there you can search for the perfect job that suits you. Who knows, maybe some cash today will lead to joining Angelakos cruising under the hot Caribbean sun in June.
