Tag Archives: Jobs

Diary of a Car-Less Freshman (by Grant Siluangkhot)

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Grant’s blog today was taken over by Greg Heffley from “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney! Here’s a little bit about what Greg thought of Grant’s adventures on Presidents Day.

First of all, let me get something straight: This is a BLOG POST, not a diary. I know what it says in the title, but when Mom went to title this thing I SPECIFICALLY told her to make one that didn’t say “diary” in it.

The only reason I agreed to do this is because I figure later on when I’ve graduated and have a full-time job, I’ll have better things to do than answer future freshmen’s questions all day long. So this post is going to come in handy.

Like I said, I’m going to graduate one day, but hopefully before then, I’ll have a car. For now, I’m stuck with walking everywhere and taking the bus. Luckily, Baylor has the DASH (Downtown Area Shuttle).

Today started off as another average Monday day for a Baylor University freshman. Everyone moans and groans about how tired they are and how they wish class their classes would get cancelled. After all, today isn’t just any Monday; it’s President’s Day. Just a last year, as high schoolers, we would get the day off.

After sluggishly getting ready for the day, I had Chapel and Japanese class in the morning. I ate lunch at a dining hall with friends and then went to Chemistry class in the afternoon. Next was work.

I work for a tutoring company called Group Excellence. I help kids at Waco High School with their homework and SAT prep after school. Without a car, I have to find other ways to make it to work. So like I usually do, I took the Baylor DASH to the Baylor School of Social Work. From there, it’s about a two block walk away from the Waco Bus Station. For a little bus fare, I take the Route 4 bus to Waco High. There’s always an interesting conversation going on between the driver and the people on the bus.

When I got to the school today, I was in for a surprise. The bell rang for dismissal, as usual, but no one came out of the building. Then I remembered: Today’s President’s Day! The students have the day off! Silly me. Then I realized another thing: I didn’t have enough fare to ride the bus back!

I can write about this now because I eventually made it back to campus safely. To make a long story short, I had to find an ATM somewhere and then had to get some change. Sweating was involved to make it back to the bus stop in time, but hey, it’s all for the adventure, right?

Get a job! (by Kristen Ritch)

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If there’s any college kid stereotype that rings true, it’s the fact that most college kids are broke. Gone are the days that parents were there to buy the little things—shampoo, conditioner, deodorant—that didn’t seem like a chore to get or expensive. But, now that we’re far from home, we begin to realize just how hard our parents had it, and just how expensive living really is.

 

Although Baylor’s dining halls are much better than rival schools, many students like to break it up and head to Ninfa’s, The Olive Branch, Clay Pot, or other local places to get off-campus, and, as we soon learned, that can cost a pretty penny. My parents’ obvious suggestion? Get a job.

 

I spent the past few summers working as a lifeguard or an intern at my home church. Those were kind of granted to me through connections via my youth group or through my swim team, so applying for a job seemed kind of frightening. I qualified for Baylor’s Work-Study Program, so I went to the website, found a job that looked interesting to me, and e-mailed the contact asking for an application. Within an hour, I received an e-mail from the organization, a local non-profit, asking for my resume and class schedule. In the next week, I had a phone interview and was given the job.

 

I started work the first week of school at World Hunger Relief, Incorporated. While my job isn’t exactly glamorous—desk work, filing, and cleaning—it’s a great way for me to truly connect with the community through their big event, Farm Day, and going to Waco’s farmer’s market, where they sell the greens, milk, eggs, and meat produced on the farm. The fact that this kind of job was available to me through Baylor is so cool. It’s such a fabulous opportunity that really coincides with what I want to do with my life through my education at Baylor, as it trains missionaries to go out and teach people in third world countries how to grow plants and create a sustainable community.

 

Really, if you are a parent worried about whether your child could get a job, or if you are an incoming Baylor Bear worried about whether you could land a job, don’t panic.
  1. Find a job that works with your schedule
  2. Find a job that interests you (or at least the monetary compensation interests you enough)
  3. Apply quickly
  4. Be professional
  5. And, of course, keep your online profiles clean
If you do that, it should be no problem getting a job at Baylor. And the hours are generally flexible enough for you to maintain that 4.0!
P.S. Remember to finish your Baylor application by February 1 and, if you’ve already been accepted, reserve your spot in housing!

The Senior “Lyfe” (by P.J. Martinez)

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Seriously, where has the time gone?  As I was looking for my next #throwbackthursday picture for Instagram, I scrolled all the way to top of my phone and found a picture of myself dressed for a geek dance party standing in the middle of my old dorm room. What seemed like a long time ago, actually really wasn’t. Now, it’s Senior Year and everything seems to be going so fast. Everyone asks, “So, what are you doing after this?” This question gets asked on a regular basis once you are a Senior. So, be ready!

Graduate school applications are coming up and yes this is making me a bit nervous.  I know exactly what I want to do, but where does that need to happen? For higher education, my mentors have said that it is best to go somewhere other than Baylor and get glimpse of what diversity is actually like. Although I would love to stay here at Baylor, the time to leave is approaching. Other seniors are getting ready for their future jobs and already have plans to start the post grad life. Some are even engaged. Crazy!!!

From my point of view, this year has definitely been easier than the past. If you are on track to finish your degree on time, the last two semesters seem to be a breeze. Or so it seems as of now. I’m currently enrolled in 13 hours this semester, and 12 next semester. I seriously feel like I’m living the dream. Once I’ve done all my homework, there is then time to hang out with my friends and do things I didn’t have time to do in the past.

As I write this post, I sit here wishing that I could re-live freshman year again. Mainly just to see how much I have changed. I truly feel that Baylor gave me the opportunity to grow and become an older person. Yes, I do have a lot more growing to do, but being here gave me the spark in order to do that. I hope that once you enter upon your freshman year here at Baylor, you cherish every moment you have, join any organization that seems interesting to you, study, and simply have fun!  The “Senior Lyfe” can get here faster than you know it!

Geek Dance Party!

When I Grow Up (by Sophia Cooper)

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When I was three, I wanted to be a vet when I grew up. When I was thirteen, I wanted to be an astronaut. When I was eighteen, I decided to study engineering. Now that I’m twenty, the pressure is on. It’s time to actually figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

Companies appreciate the value of summer internships, but it can be really hard to find them and prepare properly for the application experience. What does an “objective” really do on the top of your résumé? What kind of questions would I be asked in an interview? What 30-second “elevator talk” can I tell a company to sell myself when I first meet them? I have no clue!

That’s where the Paul L. Foster Success Center comes in. Located of the first floor of Sid Richardson building here on campus, the Success Center offers free tutoring, interview prep, résumé reviews, and helps facilitate Career Fairs. In the past two weeks, I attended both the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) fair and the all-major career fair. Career Services offered résumé reviewing workshops, how-to interview classes, and dress for success sessions to help students prepare as best they could for these fairs.

A wide variety of companies were in attendance, from the FBI to ConocoPhillips to HEB. Being an engineer, the STEM fair was right up my alley: I was able to talk to oil companies, manufacturers, and aviation designers all in one afternoon! By circulating my résumé, I was able to get my name out there for consideration at all sorts of different corporations and I got the experience of networking. I was also able to post my resume on Hire-A-Bear, a job search database for Baylor students and alums, for companies to look at.

Thanks to all the hard work of Career Services, I am getting closer to figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. They have helped me perfect my résumé, get my name out there for companies, and even land an awesome internship this past summer. The Success Center is just one of the many great resources available to students here!