Student Worker Selection Process Explored
For students wishing to earn money at the Academy, the Student Work Program is a fine and readily available option. Job opportunities present themselves at nearly 20 locations on campus and become available to students once they turn 14 years old. The program has an established universal form submission process for all positions, but the expected qualifications and prerequisites for students vary across fields.
Students under 18 are limited to six hours of work a week when school is in session. According to the program application, this restriction was put into place to allow for “students to focus on academics while earning a little spending money and learning new skills.”
Potential student workers can reach out to department heads to see if there are open spots, but they must complete and submit to Human Resources (HR) up to four state and federal forms to be eligible to work. The required papers include the federal W-4 form, Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9 Form), and Student Work Program application. Applicants fill in the NH Youth Employment Certificate if they’re 14 or 15 years old, and the Parental Consent Form if they’re 16 or 17 years old.
After an applicant submits his or her required employment forms, HR issues a “purple slip.” The student must then take the slip to the supervisor of the department they wish to work for, get it signed, and return it to HR to be entered into the payroll system. Financial aid does not play a role in the selection of student workers; oftentimes, those who apply first, and have the qualifications, end up receiving the job. To work at the Grainger Observatory, however, a student must express more than just interest; he or she must have taken at a minimum the course PHY391: Introductory Astronomy, according to science instructor John Blackwell. He also pointed out that most student workers at the observatory have taken two or all three of the astronomy course offerings in the same sequence.
“The more experience they have with the instrumentation, the better,” Blackwell said. “Applicants must be mature, capable of helping astronomy students without giving away any answers, responsible and attentive.”
Student work proctors at the observatory assist in opening and closing the observatory, setting up and breaking down equipment for a session, assisting observers with instrumentation, giving information to the public about open houses and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment. In contrast, student workers in Phillips Church do not have to take certain courses, or have certain qualifications. Reverend Robert Thompson said that the church prefers students who are involved in Religious Services activities, but those who are not are by no means excluded from working.
“In a broad sense, [Linda Safford and I] expect our proctors to love the building as we do,” Thompson said. Proctors walk through the building periodically, ensure the kitchen is in good order and monitor the behavior of their peers.
The Academy’s library runs two programs. Library proctors, who are day student seniors and work with librarians Gail Scanlon and and Virginia Rohloff, fill unpaid leadership positions—much like boarding students fill dormitory proctor positions. Library student workers, however, work for pay at both the main library with librarian Marilyn Bott and at the Music Library with librarian Andrew Gatto.
The student workers in the main library man the circulation desk, where they check library items in and out. They also answer the telephone, answer questions for visitors and find materials for classes working there. In addition, one student does a weekly cleaning and checkup on all the computers in the building, while two work with materials in the archives and yet another two reshelve items that have recently been returned to the library.
According to Bott, students who are interested in working at the library should pick up an application at the circulation desk during the first two or three days of each term. There, they fill out hours they’re willing to work and select positions they’re interested in. “Hiring preference goes to returning library student workers,” Bott said, also noting that only half of the student workers were new. “Selection is largely driven by a student’s scheduled availability and whether it correlates with gaps in the schedule.”
The Sustainability Department provides E-Proctor applications for students who are willing to raise awareness of environmental issues and practices on campus, such as recycling and composting effectively. The application requests a variety of information and contains several questions, however no previous experience is needed; applicants just need to be prepared to educate their peers and engage in conversations about the environment. More than 40 applications have been turned in, but according to Sustainability Education Coordinator Jason Bremiller, decisions have not yet been made.
Five student proctors were selected this term to help run the Lamont Art Gallery. Their job responsibilites include manning the gallery office during lunch, welcoming and assisting visitors, photographing events and helping with exhibition preparations and installations. In order to apply for a proctorship in the Lamont Art Gallery, applicants just have to be interested in working; they do not have to be familiar with the gallery or art in general, according to Lauren O’Neal, Director and Curator of the Lamont Gallery. Some specific qualities that the staff looks for in the proctors are responsibility and sociableness, because they have to represent the school to public visitors.
Occasionally, proctors are given the chance to perform music at receptions. “Proctors have also contributed to other gallery programs, such as participating as part of a curatorial team to develop an exhibition and painting a giant magnetic poetry board… you never know what types of interesting project might come along, and [the gallery staff] always welcome the proctors’ input and ideas,” O’Neal said.
Contributions from Sophia Park