What Campus Jobs Have the Summer Fellows Worked?

Campus Employment

Beyond academics, about 80% of our students hold an on-campus job. That means many of the places you’ll visit are actually run by other students. One of my favorite examples is the Cowling Arboretum. Here, students do trail maintenance, conduct bird inventories, and even conduct controlled burns (with  flamethrowers!). Outside of the Arb, students work in a wide range of roles. Many will also work different jobs over the course of their time here. Some of our Admissions Bloggers have worked as writing consultants, assistants in the Registrar’s Office, and associates for the Chapel. This week, I’ll share some of the jobs that our Admissions Fellows have worked over the years!

Print Shop 

I still remember filling out the job interest form my freshman year. I put down my interests and, just a few days later, I got an email offering me a job as a Print Shop Assistant. Working there was so great that I’ve done it for three years now. People are often surprised to learn that we don’t just print for students and campus departments. Actually, we get orders from the Northfield community all the time. The Print Shop might be one of the most underappreciated spots on campus, but it’s where you’ll go to print anything from dorm decorations to research posters. Fun fact: I even ended up working alongside my friend Gideon, who was in both my New Student Week group and my FOCUS group.

Summer Fellow

If you’re someone who enjoys talking with prospective students, writing blog posts, making TikToks (and yes, occasionally doom scrolling at work), then being a Summer Admissions Fellow might be the perfect job for you. Of course, I’m a little biased since I work here myself. It’s not super common for Fellows to lead an Information Session during campus visits, but I was lucky enough to get that opportunity (hence the photo below). As for tours, we’re kind of infamous while the average tour lasts about an hour, ours have been known to run an hour and a half.

TORCH Assistant

Remember how I said I loved working for the Print Shop? Well, funny enough, I was recently hired as one of Northfield’s Middle School Tutors. In this role, students will come to me not only for academic support but also for everyday advice. Through the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE), I was able to connect with this opportunity, and I’m really excited about it. I applied because I believe working with middle schoolers will help prepare me to eventually work with high school students. Plus, let’s be honest, middle schoolers are some of the most unserious kids you’ll ever meet. My hope is to start here, then move up to working with high schoolers as an AP Psychology teacher!

Lifeguard

Chance, one of our other Admissions Fellows, worked as a lifeguard at both of Carleton’s swimming pools. On the job, he got to practice rescues with his coworkers, open up the pools, and even connect his phone to the speakers at West Gym to play music. Chance also signed up for time slots during open swim, keeping an eye on both swimmers and non-swimmers alike. But the most interesting part of his job? Lifeguarding for Swim Aerobics classes with Carleton staff members who often brought him sweet treats like cookies and candy as gifts!

Chaplain’s Associate

In addition to lifeguarding, Chance is also one of the Chaplain’s Associates. In this role, he helps run weekly programs such as Passover and collaborates with student organizations like Mosaic. He also co-leads weekly meditation sessions every Monday and Wednesday with no commitment required, you can just drop in whenever you’d like. On top of that, Chance leads Bible studies and works closely with our College Chaplain, Schuyler Vogel.

Writing Consultant

Colin works for the Academic Support Center as a Writing Consultant. Most of the time, this means hanging out on Fourth Libe (the fourth floor of the library), where students can come to request help on all sorts of writing projects. They can be group or solo projects, essays or presentations, almost done or not even started. He also works with an Argument and Inquiry seminar every fall by helping to bring the first-year students up to Carleton’s writing standard. Overall, he enjoys working with his fellow students on their writing!

Registrar’s Assistant

Yahaira (she/her) is a junior with a Psychology major and Educational Studies minor. She’s from a big city, Chicago, and but has come to enjoy the small-town vibe of Northfield. When not on campus, you can find Yahaira thrifting, walking around in the arb, or attending social and cultural events with food! She can also be spotted crocheting on a bench or 3rd libe with several friends or solo! Outside of being an Admissions Fellow, Yahaira works at the print shop, is a member of the birders club, TRIO, and Project Friendship. She’s more than happy to share experiences on double-labbing and conducting animal psychology research with pigeons and rats.