As most parents and students know, attending college is a costly endeavor. To help cover these costs, students who apply for federal financial aid have the option of working through the work-study program. Work-study enables you to find a job on-campus that fits into your schedule and allows you to earn money to help with the expenses of college. These jobs can vary from dining hall services to library receptionist or even assistant researcher for a professor. You can also choose how many hours you want to work per week, 6 or 10 or more (or less).

The work-study job I am most familiar with is working at a dining hall. On my campus, there are several different dining halls to work at. Whether you are just there to sweep the floor, clean tables, wash dishes, or put pots and pans back where they belong, you are making a difference. As small as your task may seem, it ends up going a long way. Everyone has certain roles to fulfill and by fulfilling your assigned role, you are helping the overall team in ensuring that the kitchen runs smoothly and that things don’t get too hectic.

Take, for example, the following scenario: Let's say you lag and do not wash the dishes as they come and they pile up. This means there will be no clean dishes to re-stack the counters with, which may lead to there not being enough dishes for the rest of the students who are coming in to eat. If there are no plates to eat dinner with, then the students will not get to eat! Each task is connected to another one - it is an interdependent system. If one person falls behind, that means everyone will fall behind. That is why you have to be timely, attentive, responsible, and on-task during your entire shift.

As starters, first-years are only allowed to work at the dining halls. Most students I know, however, do not stick to working at the dining halls; as soon as they are upperclassmen they find a job elsewhere. So, typically, when I go to work at the dining hall, I am usually the only junior there since most of the students around me are first-years.

It is understandable why one would want a “better” job, perhaps as an assistant or receptionist, etc. But, working at the dining hall is not that bad. It is a simple and efficient way of making money. Plus, if the dining hall staff are kind and friendly (they usually are,) the hour passes by very quickly and you leave feeling productive, helpful, and happy.

Personally, I love working at the dining hall. This is how my shift usually goes:

As soon as I wear my apron, I walk to the dishes area and see if the workers who are already there need any help. If there is no one working on the dishes, I take that position. This entails spraying the dishes with water and running them through the machine.

If there is someone already working on the dishes, I stand at the other end of the machine and help put the dishes or pans back in their designated spots. This is important so that the cooks can use the pots and pans they may need and so that the incoming students have plates/cups/mugs/silverware to eat and drink with.

If there are enough people working with dishes, I can either wipe tables, or re-fill the silverware and plate counters with freshly cleaned silverware and plates.

In some dining halls, you may be assigned to check on the food and let the chefs know if the tray is almost finished so that they can prepare more of the food.

The most gruesome and hard task at the dining hall is pot-washing. This job entails scrubbing pots and pans (which can take a while depending on how much food or grease is stuck on it.) The advantage of being a pot-washer, however, is that time really flies! Before you know it, your shift is almost over and you wouldn’t have even noticed because of how busy and occupied you were.

Most of the time, I am surrounded by kind people who make working fun. They turn on the radio, sing along, and sometimes even dance. The staff are also very kind and willing to help you if you have any questions. I look forward to my shifts at the dining hall and feel even happier to earn money for doing something that doesn’t even feel like “work” to me. My mind gets a break from thinking about school or stress and I, instead, feel like a productive person who contributed to the success of a team. My hour-long shifts give me more than just money and that is why I proudly say I am a dining hall student worker!