Being a Grove City student is definitely a full-time job in and of itself. Classes, chapel, orchestra, sports, Greek life, bible study: you name it, and you’ll be booked full in no time. But there’s one thing that should be a part of your schedule so that you can afford to be a student with that busy Grove City schedule: an on-campus job. They’re often stressful, time-consuming, and mundane, but necessary to keep up with tuition costs. Fortunately, Grove City has a lot of on-campus job options, including the bookstore, the library, the admissions office, the mailroom, and my personal favorite, the dishroom in MAP cafeteria.
The first step in working at an on-campus job is finding one, which isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Many a student has been thrown off by the Student Employment Application on my.gcc.edu, thinking that they can fill it out and expect to hear back from an on-campus job come the start of the semester, but in the end, they get no response. At Grove City, the only way to get an on-campus job is to fill out a specific application sent out for that position and/or go to the supervisor and ask if they’re hiring. In MAP, it’s much easier than that. Anyone can walk right into the dishroom, take a look at the student schedule, and fill in their name for the shift that works best for them. You can take as many or as few shifts as you want, or even part of a shift: it’s extremely flexible. They also offer occasional Saturday shifts for catered events and visit days. After getting set up with payroll and a time card, you’re all set to go – your first on-campus job.
So what is it like to work in MAP once you’re there? Of course, dishwashing might sound tedious and less than desirable, but after working as freshmen, most students choose to stay and work in the dishroom throughout their college years instead of moving onto seemingly better choices such as the bookstore or the library. That’s because MAP’s students start off as coworkers just trying to get a job done and pay for college, but we become good friends who get paid to chat, listen to music, and have the occasional dance party while we work.
One of the greatest perks of working in MAP is the reason why the 7:30 a.m. breakfast staff doesn’t dread their shift as much as one might think. After the first rush of dishes, we get a paid half-hour break where we all enjoy breakfast and conversation as we slowly emerge from hibernation for the day. This gives students an opportunity to get to know those who they aren’t in direct contact with during their shift. One student describes it as a “very homogeneous and eclectic group of people who [initially] don’t know each other but become a family.”
In the dishroom, there are typically three to four students at the front collecting, rinsing, and loading dirty dishes into the machine and one student working in the back to unload and get the dishes ready to be taken back out to the cafeteria. Finally, the runner assists to unload and works to deliver the dishes out to the café. The runner is also responsible for ascertaining that all juice, flavored water, and milk machines are filled throughout the shift. I started working as a runner this semester, and although I was apprehensive at first, I’ve greatly enjoyed the position. I love the satisfaction of getting a job done independently and knowing that others can rely on my work.
While they tend to have many more open shifts in the beginning of the semester, MAP tends to accept sign-ups throughout the semester. In addition to their day-to-day scheduling flexibility, if your schedule develops an opening any time throughout the semester, you’re always welcome to search for a shift, or add another shift, in MAP. In the same way, if a shift ends up being too much for you, you can easily cross your name off, let the supervisor know, and drop it for that time. If this sounds like the perfect on-campus job for you the way it was for me, then don’t be afraid to come in and sign up when you arrive in the fall!
