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When I came to Mizzou as a freshman, I didn’t know anyone else attending the school. As an out-of-state student, Mizzou wasn’t a common choice for students at my high school. Coming to a school when you don’t know anyone can be nerve wracking, but my experiences of campus employment helped me start to find my footing on campus.
I applied for my first on-campus job spring semester of my freshman year, and that’s how I ended up working at Starbucks in Memorial Union. After working there in the spring semester, I got hired at the MU Career Center over the summer, and have been working there for the entirety of my sophomore year. While the job descriptions vary greatly, both jobs helped introduce me to new sides of campus.
Both Starbucks and the MU Career Center introduced me to a whole new group of students through my coworkers. Spanning class levels and majors, I’ve met people through these jobs I would’ve never met otherwise. While I don’t work at Starbucks anymore, I’m still close friends with one of my coworkers I met through that job.
At the MU Career Center, I was welcomed into the group of career specialists from my first week, and discovered a whole new section of campus thanks to my job. Prior to being hired by the MU Career Center, I had never been in the Student Success Center. Now that I work in the Student Success Center, I’ve been introduced to resources I didn’t even know existed. From the Writing Center to Jumpstart, I’ve learned so much more about the resources offered at Mizzou through my job.
Outside of that, the biggest plus to an on-campus job is the support from full-time staff and flexibility in scheduling. When working at Mizzou, supervisors understand you’re a student and help you navigate the scheduling conflicts that come along with changing class schedules. Plus, meeting more full-time staff members can give you someone to fall back on at the university. If I ever need a recommendation letter or have a concern about work, I know I can ask one of my supervisors without any issue.
Through both jobs, I was able to meet more students and find my place on campus. At an SEC school like Mizzou, an on-campus job is a great way to start getting involved on campus.
By Allie Tribe