College can be notoriously expensive and RIT is not shy of that. With RIT’s 4.5% increase in undergraduate tuition rates, students, much like myself, are scurrying to acquire an on-campus job to adapt to this change in tuition.
On-campus jobs can alleviate much of the stress that off-campus jobs may cause for college students. On-campus jobs work around busy college schedules and supervisors understand if work needs to be missed during finals week, over breaks, etc. With many jobs to choose from, RIT offers a wide array of opportunities to pay their students for their labor.
RIT also has a male to female student ratio of 66:34, a difference that is very noticeable with a simple walk around campus–It is no secret. When observing people who have jobs on campus, it is very clearly seen that most of these workers are men. Seeing this, I was faced with a dilemma that women around the world constantly face: entering the male-dominated fields of the workforce.
Based on this experience at RIT, I had to find solutions to being able to get an on-campus job that was fitting and durable for myself. Looking at my options, I decided that working in food service was not for me. Dealing with customers and handling food that sticks to your clothes is not my forte. With that out of the way, I decided to look for jobs related to my major: journalism.
Ever since high school, I have had an interest in broadcasting. RIT has a large hockey following, and they broadcast every game. For me, this was a perfect opportunity. The director of RIT’s hockey broadcasts had already come into a couple of my classes, and he said to shoot him a quick email if we were interested, and I knew I was interested.
With quick fingers I sent my email and waited. A week went by, two weeks, three weeks, I was starting to get antsy. “Did they ghost me already?” I thought. To get my mind off the constant waiting, I decided to attend a hockey game, where I pinpointed where the broadcasters were. No surprise, mostly male. By the fourth week I accepted my fate, starting my job search once more.
My roommate, Hannah Meyer, was so excited to let me know that they had the perfect job for me. They had recently joined the college radio station and they were looking for a sports director. I jumped up from my bed, checking the job description. “Organizing and managing the broadcasting of RIT hockey games to WITR 89.7.”
I had never once thought of working for the radio, and I was excited. I quickly went to schedule my interview, realizing that all the spots had been filled. My heart dropped for a second before I received an email. “I’ve adjusted the settings to allow for more times. Please let me know if you need anything else.”
This was my chance, an opportunity just for me. I jumped for joy, scheduling my interview and printing my resume in preparation. I was more than excited, I was overjoyed.
The day of the interview arrived, putting on a nice outfit I stepped into the radio station office. Stickers covered the walls, and I was greeted by two members of the executive board. One led me to a room where I delivered a killer interview.
He introduced the radio station and explained what my job responsibilities would be. I sat by my laptop for what felt like months waiting for his response. A week later, I checked my inbox, finding an email with the subject line “Congratulations!” I’d done it, I secured my job as the sports director. Not only could I now alleviate some of the stress caused by the tuition increase, I could earn the money doing what I loved. There is nothing that could compare to the feeling of success and achievement than this moment.
It can be intimidating to go into something where you don’t know if people like you will thrive.
While my job hunting journey seemed relatively simple compared to most, it is still one of perseverance in the face of adversity.
I encourage all of you in your job hunting journeys to never give up, despite the ghosting you may face–because three days later, I received an email from the RIT hockey broadcasting team asking me if I was still interested in the original job.