Graham Shea
Assistant Photo Editor
It may be because they want to serve. It may be because they are bored. Or it may be because the $40,000 they are each sinking into every year at Pepperdine could buy them all new Corvettes. For whatever reason, a large proportion of Pepperdine students feel the need to go out and get a job, or two or three.
Students search a broad array of occupations to suit their personal preferences and busy schedules, be it at local retailers, restaurants or on campus.
“I would say about one-half of Seaver students work,” said Carla Anderson, Pepperdine’s Student Employment manager.
According to the Student Employment office’s monthly report for September, 815 undergraduate students are employed by Pepperdine. Out of those, many work two or more on-campus jobs, though the exact number is not known.
“It is a lot,” said Anderson, “especially of students who have work study. It’s difficult for them to get their time in with one job.”
Others look to the local or nearby communities for employment, often mixing on- and off-campus work.
How do students do it?
Contrary to what conventional wisdom might suggest, some research has linked student employment to comparatively higher GPAs. A study by South Carolina University from 1996 published by the Association of College Unions International in 2003 stated that “students who worked 10–20 hours per week performed better academically than students who worked less than 10 hours, more than 20 hours, or not at all.”
Most students, however, do not work to boost their GPAs. Jobs often compete with academics, and priorities must be set when there are only 24 hours in a day.
Pepperdine senior Brian Bushway said he values his work experiences as a critical part of his education.
“I actually feel that more of my learning comes from my work,” he said. “My real education is coming from my extracurricular activities. It’s putting into work what we talk about in class. It’s very different from what we do in class memorizing and regurgitating facts.”
Bushway is the leadership team director for American Humanics Scholars, a certification program for non-profit work.
“I will drop class stuff to do A.H. stuff because I feel A.H. is more purposeful,” Bushway said. “We’re working, this is our job and there is a commitment. When we signed on, we signed on to do this thing. Sacrifices are made elsewhere to get stuff done.”
Bushway is also the bass player for local band “SoundMind,” which performs regularly at Pepperdine and local venues. He said his membership in the band plays an important role in his education as well because managing a band requires many of the same skills needed in managing a business.
“Lately I find myself busy and spread a little thin, but I seem to manage,” Bushway, a speech communication major with a minor in non-profit business, said. “How do I do it all? I try to keep it all balanced and not get too stressed out when things pile up. There are more things to worry about in life than the difference between an A and a B on a paper.”
Despite the sometimes grueling burden of combining work and school, the percentage of students employed is growing steadily. This trend was indicated by a study published in 2001 by UPromise, a company that helps students save for college.
Junior Phil Starkey works at Malibu Florist and as a teacher’s aide for PE 199 in addition to his 18 units of classes. He also volunteers helping mentally disabled people from the Esperance Center in Malibu. Starkey said as important as his work is, school takes priority.
“I’m pretty busy,” Starkey said. “Right now I am only working two days a week at the florist’s, but I am also working for my teaching credential. I have to go to an elementary school twice a week.
“I used to work at Coogies, but my boss wasn’t very understanding that I was a student first,” Starkey said. “I will probably stay with the florist. I like the boss. He’s flexible with hours and days because he knows the student life is rollercoastery.”
To make finding that niche a little easier, the Student Employment office provides a Web site to help connect students and employers (jobs.pepperdine.edu). Jobs can be posted as well as applications, so that both students and employers are free to search the listings and contact one another.
“I put my name on the Web site for my tutoring job,” said Laurie Hartt, a junior. “You can fill out whatever kind of things you are good at – abilities, experiences, and they call you up. Sometimes they call you for random things too. You’re like, ‘Why did you call me?’”
Sophomore Teddy Lin, who works at Malibu Yogurt, said working does not affect GPA.
“This is part of the college experience,” he said. “We’re all college students. We can balance.”
Brooke Coates, a junior, holds four jobs in addition to the work she does toward her teaching credential.
“Personally, if I’m not always doing something I would just fall over dead,” she said. “I know some people just don’t work at all and don’t have that drive.”
Coates works at the School of Law library and Student Activities, and has two baby-sitting jobs off campus, which she found through the Student Employment Web site.
For other students, however, the job hunt is prompted by more than just the itch to be busy.
“If I don’t work, then my water doesn’t come on, the power goes out and I get evicted,” said senior Victoria Russell. “Homework doesn’t pay the bills as quickly as working does. I’m very anxious to get out of school so that I can start working full time.”
For whatever reason, students are increasingly choosing to sell their extra time to the job market. But by the looks of the Pepperdine parking lot, if it’s not the tuition, it’s the Corvettes.
10-28-04
