Getting a job on campus is an excellent way to get some extra spending money. Campus jobs are plentiful and not too hard, as long as you know where to look. And when you get your checks on the 10^th of each month, boy is it worth it.

Last year I started working at McDaniel’s Writing Center, where we offer free writing help to any member of the college community. The Writing Center is located in Hill Hall on the first floor and is generally occupied by 2 or 3 energetic and friendly writing tutors. During work hours, we have no greater desire than to help make our friends and classmates better at writing.

I also work at the Office of Academic Affairs. My duties there include answering phones, entering survey data into spreadsheets, getting the mail, running errands, filing, sealing and stamping letters, and being the backup receptionist. I love my job there because I have been able to build a great relationship with the secretaries, Deans, and other faculty that work there. It also gives me an inside look at how colleges work – forms for adding classes and changing majors come through Academic Affairs, as do students planning fun on-campus events. Basically, working here makes me feel like I’m up to date with what’s happening around campus. Plus, sometimes the Deans buy us all bagels.

In case you are interested in getting a campus job, here are some examples of jobs my friends have:

-          Working in the dining hall (GLAR)

-          Setting up chairs for events

-          Chasing foul balls at baseball games

-          Chasing soccer balls at soccer games

-          Keeping score at basketball games

-          Catching field goals at football games

-          Being manager for the Softball team

-          Working at the Post Office

-          Working in the bookstore, the Pub, the Starbucks, or the convenience store

-          Catering fancy dinners on-campus

-          Chaperoning the game room

-          Checking out books at the library

-          Peer Mentoring the freshman

-          Being a Resident Assistant (RA)

-          Guarding computer labs

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of ways to spend money at college; finding a way to make some money can be the best decision you make.

Every school night at 10 o’clock I head down to Old Gill (the original gym) to play some pickup indoor soccer. Often this is my favorite part of the day, when I can finally relax, let loose, and kick some balls! Sometimes only ten people show up; we play anyway. Sometimes 25 people show up, all to play in a small gym; we play anyway.  Every night. 10 PM. We show up, we play for an hour, and then the gym closes for the night. If the gym stayed open longer, I have no doubt that we would also stay longer, late into the night.

A huge variety of people come to play each night. We have freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. We have Alpha Sigs, Phi Kapps, and Phi Delts. We have boys who spent three years playing on the McDaniel’s varsity team, and we have girls who haven’t touched a soccer ball since they were 9 years old. The beauty of our nightly soccer games is that anyone can play, with any level of skill, and still have fun. For some, the benefit of playing with experienced players is huge: they pick up tips on how to position their feet on defense, how to best turn with the ball, and how to know when to make a run to the corner and when to make a run to the middle. For others, just getting some familiarity with soccer is helpful; the more times you touch a ball, the better you will be at controlling the ball. And for the ones who have played competitive soccer, nightly soccer offers a chance to try out new moves, teach others, have some fun, and of course show off.

After the gym closes, many of us head to the Pub for a midnight meal. It is a chance to chat about the game, to recap the best moves, but also a great way to become closer friends to the people you play with every night.  Last year, when I first started to play nightly soccer, I made it a habit to go to the Pub with the kids that I most frequently saw at nightly soccer. It was a group of freshman (gasp! he hung out with freshman!) that were very dedicated to evening soccer: some nights, especially near the end of the semester, it was just them and me that showed up; we played anyway, and then we “Pubbed.” Today, that same group of kids are some of my closest friends at school. And we still play soccer every night at 10 PM.

Tomorrow is McDaniel’s first home football game of the 2012 season!! Woooohoooo!! As Friday classes wind down students are always excited for the weekend, but this weekend is extra special. The football experience here is terrific – we’ve been featured on the Weather Channel and in Southern Living magazine as one of the best tailgating schools in America – but the first game of the year is always a little extra special. Maybe it’s because every team still believes they have a shot to win it all. Maybe it’s because we don’t yet know which players are going to turn into stars. Or maybe it’s because we just haven’t seen a football game in a really long time. Whatever the reason, the first football game gets McDaniel students pumped!

What makes tailgating at McDaniel so great is that it lasts the entire game. Instead of traditional pre-game tailgates that are outside the stadium, tailgates at McDaniel are set up on the hill that surrounds the playing field.  Fans park, and place their tents and lawn chairs right next to their cars, locations that would be box seats in a large stadium. As the game progresses students, alumni, parents, and fans can be seen lounging with a soft drink, grilling up some burgers, tossing a football or a Frisbee, or just laying in the grass, but all of them can be seen looking up every few seconds, to pause and watch the next play.

This morning I went down to the field with five of my fraternity brothers to paint our letters (ΑΣΦ – Alpha Sigma Phi) on the hill.  It is tradition here for each fraternity and sorority to paint their letters on the steepest part of the hill, by the northernmost end zone. We first outlined the letters by breaking pencils in half, tying twine to them, and sticking them in the ground. After much debate about moving pencils an inch to the right or a half inch back to the left, we were finally ready to break out the spray paint.  With a little help from a few friends that were more artistic than us – members of a sorority who were also doing their letters – we quickly perfected the placement of our twine lines. Using “Fire Red” (almost identical to our official color, Cardinal), we slowly began to fill in the letters.

The sun was hot, most of us were tired from a long week, and a few had to rush off to class, but by the time we broke for lunch it looked great! A quick outline with silver and we were done! Now we just sit back and wait for kickoff!

Go Terror!!

On Saturday, for the first time in my life, I went to Hershey Park in Hershey, PA. Thanks to the Office of Student Engagement here at McDaniel, I was able (and 6 of my friends were also able) to go to Hershey Park for a full day for only $15! Friday night we all went to sleep early, so that Saturday morning, as we boarded the bus at 8:45 AM (after a quick trip to McDonald’s for some greasy breakfast), we were awake, excited, ready to ride some coasters and eat some chocolate.

My friends (Carleigh, Sommer, Robby, Kelli, Shannon, and Trevor) and I arrived just as the park was opening, so we quickly rushed to ride as many rides as possible before the big crowds arrived. We had a great time all morning, taking full advantage of nearly empty lines, running wild from coaster to coaster like a pack of pre-teens. Then the rain started.

Just after lunch, we headed for the newest and steepest ride in the whole park, Fahrenheit. While we were standing in line the rain began to fall, slowly at first, but soon turning into a full thunderstorm. We abandoned the ride and ran for shelter next to a nearby building. Standing there, huddled against the wall, cold and wet, we could easily have given in and written off the day. Instead, we started singing! The PA system was playing some terrific songs, so we added our not-so-terrific voices to the sound.

As always, the more we acted like idiots and made dramatic faces and gestures, the more fun we had. We sang some Taylor Swift, some Coldplay, and some Rihanna. Then, just as “Bless the Broken Road” by the Rascal Flatts began to play, the rain slowed. My friend Robby walked out into the open, ostensibly making sure the rain really was stopping. In a fit of inspiration I followed, still singing loudly, while gazing at Robby in what could only be called a Grand Romantic Gesture (Arrested Development anyone?).  As the song began to wind down and the final chorus played, I went down to my knees and held Robby’s hands in my own, staring into his eyes. I was having a ball, trying hard not to laugh, but Robby was so confused he didn’t know what to do.The song ended and I stood up, laughing; and suddenly I started hearing cheers from all around me: other people in the park had seen my performance and appreciated the entertainment while the rides were closed.

Soon the rain ceased, the rides opened, and we continued to have a great time, screaming as we rode and playing Follow the Leader when we moved from one ride to another. The day ended predictably: we all bought a lot of chocolate and fell asleep on the bus. All in all it was a great day and we had a fantastic time. The next big event the Office of Student Engagement is sponsoring is a free trip to the National Zoo. My friends and I are already planning on going.

Today, I attended the most exciting event of the fall semester: the Grand Opening of McDaniel’s new on-campus convenience store, Green & Go! Green & Go is located in the heart of campus, Decker College Center, adjacent to The Pub and across from the McDaniel Bookstore. Students have been pleased to hear that Green & Go plans to stay open until 1 AM (which is later than the closest Wal-Mart stays open).

I arrived half an hour earlier than the store was scheduled to open and found a line of almost 50 kids already formed, excited to see what was inside and at the promise of a free tote bag to the first 100 guests. Once I finally got inside, I was blown away by the great selection. I knew that the space for the store was fairly small, and yet somehow the designers managed to squeeze in everything from toilet paper to milkshakes. Green & Go reminds me of WaWa, but because the store was designed in consultation with students, the products are geared toward what college students want and need.

To quickly summarize, the food items include: Green Mountain Coffee, bread, peanut butter, jelly, fluff, Nutella, honey, Italian ice, ice cream, milkshakes, milk, whipped cream, eggs, butter, yogurt  cereal, cheese, vegetables (potatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers, etc), tuna fish, hot dogs, lunch meat, sushi, pre-made sandwiches and salads, microwavable meals, doughnuts, soups, energy bars, candy, condiments, soda, juice, and of course EZ Mac. Then there were all the useful items I make my parents buy when they visit: trash bags, paper towel, Q tips, NyQuil  Neosporin, Lysol, Febreeze, Tide,  toothbrushes and paste, batteries, plastic plates, cups, and cutlery.

Green & Go is one of the best things that has happened to McDaniel since I’ve been a student. It will make living at McDaniel much, much easier. I don’t have a car and my family doesn’t live nearby, so even buying simple things like toothbrushes and EZ Mac can involve having to bum a ride from a friend or walk a mile to Wal-Mart. Now that Green & Go offers those important items right here on campus, my level of lazy can continue to skyrocket. I feel kind of like Americans must have felt when the drive-thru was invented. Well, now I need to head over to Green & Go to buy a bunch of snacks: I’m going to Hershey Park tomorrow and I don’t want to pay amusement park prices to eat!