I’ve held a few different paid positions at and around CNU over the last couple years. Having a job on the side is important to a lot of students, myself included.
My freshman year I got a work-study job in the parking garage at CNU. For a couple of hours a day I would sit in the office and process ticket information, take payments for outstanding tickets, and give students temporary and annual parking passes. The job was not particularly demanding and the administrators at the office were very nice people who were fun to interact with. But I found that after three semesters or so, the hours I was being assigned to work simply did not fit well into my schedule.
From my late-sophomore into junior year I got a job in the English Department. This entailed assistance work for students and faculty members in the department office. I worked only a few hours a week, but it was enough to bring in a little bit of revenue, and, like the job in the parking garage, I was allowed to work on homework if there was nothing to do during my hours there.
In the meantime, during my junior year, I got a position as a student blogger that I still hold today. The hours are considerably flexible because I write posts when I have the ability to write. I write about what I want to write about, and I speak honestly about CNU and I get encouraged to say both good things and bad things about the University. It is a wonderful opportunity to speak my mind and also get some credit for the effort.
Finally, just this year, I picked up a job at a local law firm. The opportunity was presented to me and a number of other students in CNU’s Pre-Law Program by Dr. Jonathan White, the pre-law adviser and American studies professor. Dr. White informed us about the opportunity and recommended a number of us to submit applications at the law firm. I was fortunate enough to get a position, and the experience has been as educational as it has been useful in bringing in some money from the work.
In the city of Newport News, jobs seem to be plentiful. If you can’t find a job on-campus, then there are plenty to be had in the surrounding community. While working many hours on top of school and all the other obligations has been tough on me, I am at least surviving right now with two jobs and school as well as multiple extracurriculars, and I don’t even consider myself to be particularly talented at keeping my life straight. So don’t be afraid to hop into the working world while at CNU.
