They hand over tickets for the game, towels for workouts and books for projects at every slide or scan of a student ID. But what these individuals enjoy most about their campus jobs isn’t the convenient location or the flexible hours — it’s the friendly interaction with their fellow students.
From Hamilton Complex Dining Services and the Daily Grind to the Campus Ambassador Program and the Computing Center, the campus offers a colorful variety of fun and functional job opportunities, within easy reach of students’ classes.
Through the spotless glass pane of the EMU Ticket Office window, junior Sarah Weller shows enthusiasm for her job by flashing a smile to each and every customer.

“You see people you know that you wouldn’t see otherwise,” she said. “Maybe people you went to high school with or someone you met at a party.”
Weller applied for the cashier position the summer before her freshmen year and has enjoyed the customer interaction ever since. Because of additional job perks, such as campus location and flexibility with class schedules, she plans to keep the job through next year as well.
Seated as a new employee at the Student Recreation Center equipment counter, senior Beth Young learned about the work-study position from her roommate earlier this year.
“It’s easier if you know somebody,” she said, handing an outdoor basketball to a towering student in the main hallway.
According to the Career Center Web site, students like Young who qualify for the work-study and technology-fee programs have demonstrated financial need and might not otherwise be able to complete their education. Awarded to students in conjunction with other forms of financial aid, the programs are exclusive to students enrolled for at least half-time status during the regular academic year (6 credit hours undergraduate, 9 credit hours graduate, 5 credit hours law).
Young said she likes the flexibility of being able to drop or pick up hours and the convenience of being so close to classes, calling the Rec center “the best place on campus to work.”
Seeing people all the time makes the position fun for Young, even when the counter gets “mobbed” during busy morning hours and physical education classes, she said.
Rhythmically stamping the current date on pink paper circulation reminders, Knight Library employee Nelson Gonzalves-Shinnick is just getting into the swing of things with new classes on a new campus. As a sophomore transfer student, he said he reads for leisure between flexible shifts and plans to save money from each paycheck.
Besides having an adjustable schedule and being able to work across the street from his apartment, Gonzalves-Shinnick said he enjoys the constant interaction with others.
“People are fun and interesting,” he said, “especially when you’re meeting people from different countries.”
Though he has worked in library systems for more than two years, experience wasn’t Gonzalves-Shinnick’s only advantage when applying for a job at Knight Library. He made his point — in reference to how difficult it was to find a job — unaffectedly.
“If you have your crap together, and you do what you can ahead of time, you can beat the slackers,” he said.