By Amber McPherson & Carolyn Damish

WESTFIELD, MA–– Every year students seek out on-campus jobs at Westfield State University. According to some students, information about these positions are not properly advertised, making the search difficult and overwhelming.

There are more students than the number of jobs available on campus. These jobs come in two types, trust fund jobs and work study jobs, both of which are offered year-round.

Work study jobs are offered to students who show some kind of financial need. Simone Backstedt is in charge of the work study program. She decides if a student’s financial need qualifies them for one of these jobs.

Trust fund jobs, however, do not require students to show financial need, and “are jobs where different departments actually have a budget for, so they pay the student directly with university funds,” said Backstedt. “There’s actually more trust fund jobs than work study jobs, but I feel like they get grabbed up really quick.”

Some trust fund jobs include, Resident Assistants (RA), lifeguards, tutors, fitness instructors, chefs, etc. Once a student is hired, they keep their position until they graduate, leaving fewer jobs for other students, especially freshman.

Although there are more trust fund than work study jobs, trust fund jobs are much more difficult to attain, due to lack of advisers according to Backstedt.

Savanna Lamas, a senior at WSU and a Resident Assistant in the Apartment Complex, is in charge of planning events, and maintaining the well-being of students in residential halls.

According to Lamas, campus jobs are poorly advertised to students, making it more difficult for students to apply.

“I always wanted to be an RA, and my freshman year RA told me about the job and how to go about applying,” said Lamas. “I don’t think jobs on campus are advertised easily, and I also don’t think there are enough jobs for students without financial aid.”

Brandon Campbell, also a senior at WSU, works in the Dining Commons. As a student without a work study, Campbell said he thought finding jobs on campus was challenging.

“We have a lot of emails, there are a lot of jobs that pop up around campus,” explained Campbell. “Although I do think it is a little hard to get jobs if you don’t have a work study.”

Although the university is doing a decent job of advertising positions on campus, it would be beneficial to students to have better opportunities to apply, according to Campbell.

Students believe if there was a centralized place they could receive information about trust fund jobs, they might have a better chance at obtaining them.

Have you ever worked on campus? If so, where and how did you hear about the position? Leave a comment below!

*Hyperlinks on names are hyperlinks to interviews*