On Friday afternoon, the Center for Career Exploration and University Human Resources hosted the fall Student Employment Fair in Sayles Hall, where hundreds of students sought on-campus jobs under University employers.
Dozens of departments and university organizations — ranging from Brown Dining Services to Alumni Relations — attended the fair to advertise open student positions for the academic year. As on-campus employers navigate an ongoing staff hiring freeze, the fair offered an opportunity to hire students, who are not affected by the freeze.
maisune Abu-Elhaija, assistant director of campus employment development at the CCE, said that the fair exists to give students a professional networking experience.
“Student (jobs) are an opportunity for the student to gain pre-professional work experience,” she said, adding that working on campus allows students to provide direct input in services centered on the student experience.
Akshar Belaguly ’29, like many of his peers, was there to browse his employment options.
“I didn’t really have a preference coming in here,” he said. “I just wanted to see what piqued my interest.”
Teddy Schwartz ’29 gave a more pragmatic reason. “I’m here because Thayer Street is too expensive. I need extra money,” he said, though added that he was interested in Safewalk because he wants to “do something that actually has some value in the world.”
Schwartz said he was hoping to find a job conducive to homework productivity, a sentiment shared by Nina Chevres ’29. “I came in wanting a student job, hopefully something that I can do work during,” she said.
Marianna Malinkine ’29 attended the fair in search of an on-campus job as a part of her work-study financial aid package, she said.
“I see it as an opportunity to get involved with new communities and meet new people in different areas,” she said, adding that she plans to apply to several roles she has no background in.
Ciara Cronin, a marketing coordinator for Brown Athletics, said that since their department isn’t a place students would regularly look to for work, the employment fair is “a good way to be face-to-face with students and show that we do have positions available.”
Cronin said that several students had expressed interest in taking on the persona — and costume — of Bruno. The department was also looking to hire people to sing the national anthem at events and used the fair as an opportunity to promote their new student ticketing process.
Brianne Shaw, communications and audience services manager in the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies department, said the department had seen an uptick in student applications over the past eight years, though she isn’t sure whether to attribute that to an increased desire for work from the student body or an increased interest in TAPS. At the fair, TAPS was advertising for front-of-house and box office positions, as well as an evening building monitor.
Nicol Hernandez, an accommodation specialist with Student Accessibility Services, said the fair is “a great chance to meet undergraduate and graduate students and be able to offer a bit more insight into what our office does.”
Hernandez said SAS was looking to hire graduate exam support assistants, graduate student proctors and office assistants.
Allison LaPlante, an administrative coordinator for Africana Studies and Rites and Reason Theatre, was seeking a social media coordinator for the department.
Six months into a University-wide staff hiring freeze, LaPlante said she believes the fair offers Brown an opportunity to “tap into” students, explaining that student employment is “not only to benefit the student in getting a paycheck and also getting experience in something” but could help staff manage workloads.
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