“This one time I went over to a high school for part of outreach and I was dressed up as a mascot. The Jag mascot.”
Alex Larios, 19, business major
Working on campus through the workstudy program can lead students through many different interesting challenges, while giving them federal financial assistance.
Work-Study is a federal program that allows them to work at many different plac- es on campus.
The financial aid specialist with the primary responsibility of the program at San Jose City College Hendy Lam said, there are many different departments of campus that don’t get a lot of attention, but still require work-study students. Some of these departments include, for example: EOPS, athletics, theater and the English department.
“There’s always streamlining to be done, just trying to get communication between the departments who need the support and the students who are looking for that job, just trying to get them connected,” said Lam who has been working with the work- study program for two semesters.
Work-study student Kirk Augustus, 21, who works as a library assistant here on campus through the program, and he said on daily basis he will, “Check in and check out books, help people with their IDs, that’s about it.”
Augustus then said, “The people I work with are cool, I get to do my homework with my free time and it’s on campus.”
Alex Larios, 19, a student ambassador in the student center said, “ I help out up here in the information desk with any questions, like finding classrooms, giving people their student IDs and student bus passes.”
When asked about memorable moments, Larios said, “This one time I went over to a high school for part of outreach and I was dressed up as a mascot. The Jag mascot.”
Some students are even taking the opportunities of the program to get experience in their field, such as Ally Quetzal Iwaz Cardenas, 31, an LRC student assistant said, “I have two jobs,” Cardenas said, “One is related to my major, so I help students who are taking the same classes that I took, like: Photoshop, animation, web design and I help them solve any problem they have. Then I also assist with computer, so any related problem like Canvas, MyWeb, to register for classes. And any type of office, like PowerPoint, Excel these kinds of programs. I help the students with that.”
The jobs through the program are like any job, and there is always room for improvement any job. Cardenas said, she wants there to be more computers that have all the programs necessary for her tutoring. There are only four computers that meet the requirements and they get very busy around exam time, she said.
Augustus, Larios and Cardenas said that they do see themselves returning to the position, if they are here next semester.
Having students return to their position is something that Lam said he was concerned about. “One of the big things
I would like to see is more retention,
just having students continue from one semester to the other,” He also said. “I would like to see and know they’re at least satisfied with the position they’re in.”
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