Working on top of a full schedule, students can often find their commute to the workplace more trouble than it is worth. However, the process of applying to jobs near campus yields more fruit than most realize.
N7 Creamery
The farther a student’s workplace, the more time is needed to block off between classes and shifts. A happy medium exists between working on campus and working near their place of residence for out-of-state students, conveniently placed down the street from campus.
Kiahna Rodriguez, freshman psychology major, began working at La Mirada’s N7 Creamery in January. Her application and hiring process, while quick, proved the importance of boldness and honesty in the part-time job sphere. Working a simple 15 minutes from campus often becomes strenuous, but seeing friends during the work hours can provide its own reward, Rodriguez explained.
“I was actually looking for a job and I just came around here and there was a ‘help wanted’ sign on the door and it said ‘barista needed,’ so I just came in by chance,” Rodriguez said. “This was my last stop actually, and I was like, ‘Hey, do you need anyone? Are you hiring?’ and he told me, my boss Richard, ‘Can you come in on Monday?’ The same week school started. And I said, ‘Yes I can come in!’”
Living only 15 minutes from campus in the summers, Rodriguez has the luxury of keeping her job over breaks, earning more hours and saving for future possibilities. Her motivation to get a job mainly centered on a surprise gift for a friend, which required saving money for several months.
Also at N7 Creamery, freshman business major Sierra McCoy found her application process just as simple. Connections through friends proved vital to the job search, and the need for the store to find part-time workers only helped the situation.
very modernized
“I love working here, specifically because it’s an ice cream place, it’s also very modernized, so we get a lot of late-night Biola students, it’s really fun,” McCoy said. “Because I had a friend that worked here, I kind of just came in here and said, ‘I really want this job, I hear it’s really great.’Within the next day they called me and told me I could have the job.”
Commuting to and from work while balancing a full schedule can often pose a problem, but working close rarely provides such stress. Since both Rodriguez and McCoy use their cars as modes of transportation, it takes a mere two minutes to get to work. However, Zoe Lewis, sophomore elementary education major, finds her 30-minute walk to Starbucks extremely strenuous.
“The reason it takes so long is because I live on the South end of campus, I live in Stewart. This summer, when I move to Blackstone for summer housing, my walk will be half,” Lewis said. “Working on-campus gets a little stir-crazy, if you’re just sitting on campus all the time. So it’s really nice to have an excuse to get off campus all the time and meet new people.”
All three student workers admit working off campus is a wonderful experience, though the mini-commute can become annoying depending on the circumstances.
a fantastic company
“Going out [the La Mirada exit], that light takes forever,” Rodriguez said. “So I will be in a rush, I’ll be like ‘Oh man, I have work at 8:00, and it’s like 7:55.’ Then I’m at that light for like three minutes.”
Since Lewis initially worked for Starbucks near her hometown, transferring to the shop down the street seemed like a no-brainer. Her experience and training have all but prepared her for any obstacle she may have in customer service and communication.
“It’s a fantastic company and they teach you a lot about how to communicate with people, talk to people,” Lewis said. “I had a lot of friends who worked at Starbucks, so that’s how I got the job back home … It’s really nice, being able to connect even with Biola students through Starbucks who I would never have met otherwise.”
