My name is Charlie Simecek, I use they/them pronouns, I’m a psychology major and will be graduating in the fall of 2022. I got a job at Eastway Dining Hall as a second-semester freshman, and it really shaped my first few years on campus. I heard about the job openings while I was eating at Eastway and because other job opportunities had fallen through.
I decided to give it a shot, and I honestly wish it was the first job I applied for.
I was a Student Worker for a semester and a half, and then I got promoted to Student Lead, which meant I was in charge of the Student Workers and had a bit more responsibility. Everybody who works at the dining hall is great to work with and I genuinely looked forward to coming to work every day.
This was only the second job I had in my life, so I really learned a lot. It was the first time I worked a cash register. I learned food safety rules that I would have never really bothered looking into otherwise. I learned a lot about working with people who were older than me, as the job I had in high school we all were around the same age. It definitely was a bit of a learning curve to have a lot more older people in charge of you than just one boss, but that really helped me prepare for the job I have now.
I now also work alongside people who are older than me, and also have more people managing me than just one person. The best part about working on campus was that it was so easy to get to work. Whether I was coming directly from a study session or going out somewhere right after work, having little to no commute was a huge bonus.
Working on campus also helped me make friends that I still talk to on a daily basis. I would say to high school students coming to Kent State and looking for a way to earn some money, look no further than a job on campus, and definitely consider Eastway!