While the most important aspect of a college career is the pursuit of a degree and matriculation, getting in some work experience during that time can be vital to landing a high quality job after graduation. To quote one longtime student, and regular on-campus job holder, “Most, if not all, departments have student aide positions. All you have to do is look for postings about student aide positions around campus, or on the NEIUPort. There are a limited number of student aide jobs, so it is first come, first serve. It also doubles as something you can put on your resume, so it pays off as a regular income as long as you hold the position, as well as something that would give you legitimate work experience.” To elaborate, get involved. Classes are certainly your first priority, but everyone needs to come out the other end of the grist mill a bit more polished than processed if it can be helped. To that end, there are a ton of clubs that can be joined, but allow me to focus on the one that happens to be my personal favorite.
Do you like to write? Look no further than these very pages for opportunities galore. This Opinions section is an excellent place for students to air their grievances, or to herald their personal viewpoint on almost any topic, whether it is directly related to school subjects, or merely indirectly related because it can affect the lives of students in one way or another. As a student at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) you can send in an opinion piece to me (m-clover@neiu.edu) as a special contributor, or come join the staff of the paper and write with us on a regular basis.
And the Opinions section is not the only section of the paper, of course. The News section headed by Bulldog Mike Arch (He is tenacious when it comes to getting a story!) can be a blast. There’s always something interesting going on around campus and the Independent can use all the help it can get rooting out the facts, and writing them up for publication (magicexp@yahoo.com). Have a personal human interest story you would like to share with the enrollment of the school? The Features section is handled by Iris Feliciano (imfeliciano2005@yahoo.com) who loves to hear new ideas and angles for more in-depth coverage on issues of interest to students. Of course, everyone has a favorite band, movie or other bit of entertainment they could go on and on about forever. The Entertainment section is edited by Cheryl Lyman (c-lyman1@neiu.edu) who you might have seen on stage here at NEIU. Even if you have not, you certainly can soon. Keep an eye on her section for more details of upcoming events on campus and step up to write about one of them if it strikes your fancy.
The process is simple. Come join us for one of our staff meetings, bring up something of interest that deserves to be written up for our pages, then if it is accepted by the editor of the section to which it is best suited, likely it will run in an upcoming issue. Best part is that it is a paying gig. Not too much mind you, and the value can fluctuate based on the length of the piece, and the quality of the initial writing. But don’t let that daunt anyone. Some of the best writers on the paper came to these hallowed halls as no more than a novice and honed their craft while on staff. It’s a time honored tradition, and one of the most fun.
And there are other paying jobs at the NEIU Independent such as layout and production work, overseen by Francisco Nieto (foxhound286@gmail.com), photography which is the province of Photo Editor Kaity Nicastri (k-nicastri@neiu.edu) and lots of little odds and ends that help to make the whole paper run smoothly. See Jon Gronli, the Associate Editor, (jon.gronli@gmail.com) or Lenny Ocasio, the Editor-in-Chief, (parisclex@yahoo.com) for more information, or to apply for staff membership.
I’ll revisit other on-campus job opportunities in future columns but, for now, come join us at the paper!