One by one, Sharaka Berry ’18 methodically takes weight plates off a bench rack inside Carleton’s Recreation Center. He neatly returns them to the rack—fives with fives, tens with tens—so that they’re organized by the same measurement.
An inconsequential task? Not to Berry.
“If you’re going to do a job, you should take pride in your work,” says Berry, who works as a building supervisor at the rec center. “Whether it’s folding towels or stacking weights, even cleaning the lint trap out of the dryer, that’s all part of the job. Some people might not look at those things as important, but I like making sure the building is neat for everyone.”
Maintaining high standards is just one of the ways Berry (Chicago) has approached student employment at Carleton. Starting with dining services his freshman year—where Berry learned that stacking dishes in Burton Hall could also be a nice stress-reliever—he’s grateful to have discovered more about professional habits through work-study.
“In high school, my structure was laid out for me. But here, I had to learn: This is how you make a plan at the beginning of term. OK, how much time do I have in-between classes? When can I work? How can I fill my time with something productive?” says Berry, who has also stayed on campus during extended breaks to work.
“Even if I didn’t have to do it, I really learned that I’d prefer to work as a college student.”
Campus employment is normally awarded to need-based recipients as part of their financial aid package. Most first-year students work about eight hours a week, with paychecks going directly to tuition. As students get older, leadership positions often follow.
“Work-study is such a positive aspect of financial aid,” says Roy Cady-Kimble ’18, a resident assistant and admissions fellow. “It lessens the cost load while adding something meaningful that connects you with a lot of people on campus.”
Like Berry, Cady-Kimble (Casper, Wyo.) started in dining services as a freshman before finding his groove in residential life and admissions. This summer, he gave campus tours and interviewed prospective students—a job that found him serving as a Carleton ambassador in casual clothes one minute, changing into a dress shirt and tie for formal sit-downs the next.
Both jobs completely flipped his career outlook. A self-described “shameless extrovert,” Cady-Kimble is now poised to attend graduate school for student affairs.
“When I started in residential life, I remember just thinking about my job all the time. It was such a perfect fit,” Cady-Kimble says. “Eventually, that facilitated discussion with Carleton staff: ‘Hey, you make a salary doing what I want to do! Let’s talk.’ Thanks to my campus jobs, the whole picture developed for me.”