Tag Archives: jobs

Graduate Assistantships at SFA

November 12, 2012   granados

During the beginning of the school year incoming students walk into certain classes or labs and notice that their professor or lab instructors are really young. At times students wonder who these professors are and many may be concerned that they may not be qualified to be teaching certain classes. Well, these teachers are actually students as well, graduate students working in their particular field of study.

Graduate students at SFA and in graduate programs across the country are given the opportunity to apply for certain positions within their university. Here at SFA these job opportunities are referred to as assistantships. There are three different types of assistantships offered at SFA, teaching, research and administrative. Graduate Assistants work within different offices at SFA. Research assistants are often hired to work on a particular project within an academic department. Students in teaching assistantships are referred to as teaching assistants or TA’s. These graduate students will usually be assigned to teach entry level or freshman classes.

The six schools here at SFA offer these assistantship positions to graduate students who are in their department’s field of study. Other offices within the school also allow students the opportunity to do assistantships within their departments. Students interested in these positions go through an application process and are carefully selected by their particular department.

Teaching assistants usually work alongside a professor and are in charge of the professors’ supplemental instruction (SI) or will completely take over certain classes. For example, graduate students working toward a higher degree in Mathematics may be working as teaching assistants and teaching some of the entry level or remedial math classes. Those in the English program teach entry level or remedial English classes. Students who are working on a master’s degree in science work as laboratory assistants, teaching the labs that go along with the introductory biology, geology and physics classes.

The jobs at SFA are not limited to teaching assistants. Departments such as the Recreation Center, the Library, Student Affairs, Residence Life, Disability Services, Agriculture and the Forestry department offer jobs for graduate students.  Other offices at SFA such as Financial Aid, Registrar, Admissions, and the President’s Office also offer job opportunities for graduate students.

Students in particular fields are required to have a degree higher than a bachelor’s in order to apply for jobs they want. These assistantships allow students to obtain a higher degree while receiving the real world experience they will be required to have once they begin their job hunt.

“I realized that in order to reach my goal of being a director or assistant director in orientation I would need to go to grad school,” Orientation Programs Graduate Assistant, Brandie VanZanden said.

VanZanden received her Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from SFA in May 2012. She is currently in the Student Affairs and Higher Education graduate program. VanZanden is working as the Graduate Assistant for Orentation Programs.

Job opportunities at SFA are open to all graduate students; they are not limited to SFA graduates. Students who obtain a job while working on a graduate degree are given the opportunity to receive health benefits and are often given a stipend depending on the program they are working in. These job opportunities are often part-time, if a student enrolled in a graduate program full time (9 hours) they are limited to working 20 hours a week. The duration of the graduate assistantships are limited to four semesters.

For more information on graduate programs at SFASU visit http://www.sfasu.edu/graduate/. For a list of current jobs available for graduate students visit the SFA Career search.  A graduate assistantship application can be printed out here.

 

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Working Students

November 05, 2012   tirado

In order to attend and afford college, many students must first find a job.

Some students are lucky to be awarded financial aid. Students are awarded grants, or are then permitted into programs such as work study, where a students is given a job on campus. For those students not lucky enough to be in work study, they might be awarded loans or nothing at all.

Many of the students awarded loans hesitate to accept them. They hesitate because they do not want to be in debt once they graduate because of the interest rates.Many choose the installment plan instead, in which case students make three payments to pay off their classes. “The first payment is the biggest, then the second and the last is the cheapest,” said Jorge Martinez, criminal justice major. However, many students are not awarded financial aid and decide to pay out of pocket. In these cases this is also a common method of payment for them. “But their is a fee that goes along with the installment plan,” said Jorge.

Nacogdoches is a small town with thousands of SFA students and local residents. The students must not only compete amongst themselves for a job position, but with the local residents as well. In many cases students choose to commute to neighboring towns in order to better their chances at getting hired. Lufkin, one of the most common, is a little over 25 miles away from Nacogdoches. For many, the 25 miles ends up stretching not only gas, but the money they are traveling to make also. So they begin to question many things as they continue to work.

Other students go back home on the weekends to work and make the money they need in order to make their deadlines, or because they could not find a job in Nacogdoches. I spoke with a couple of students and they mentioned that they knew students who went home at least once a month, in order safe guard their current job back home.They said with a V8 engine, the money spent on gas to get there combined with the gas to get back to SFA was more than the earnings their friends would make on the weekends.

A student will always ask whether the money they made is worth the stress it inflected on their grades. In the interview with Miky Josselin Huizar, psychology student, and waitress at Cheddars in Lufkin, Texas, she talked about what she thought of that question in her particular situation. She also said that as a waitress she made only $2.13 an hour and that most of her money made depended on tips. On a good shift she makes an average of about $80 and on a bad shift an average of $25-$30.

But many students do not have the choice of working or not. In order to receive any sort of grade, they risk hindering their grades by working, to be able to attend college.

In the interview Miky said honestly that “yes the holidays may suck, some holidays I don’t get to spend them with my family back in my hometown, because of work, but they understand that I am learning responsibility for myself.”

She also talked about some of the hardships that student workers think might become challenging for them as they continue with both a job and school, and how she handled them up to this point.

Miky said although both working and attending school at the same time might not be for everybody, she thinks they should try it out; because if anything, it taught her responsibility, organization, as well as time management.


 

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SFA Disney Internship Q&A

October 10, 2012   reed

SFA Disney internship students posing for a picture

Disney theme parks and resorts offer students real world intern experiences to their resumes. Students will get to work real jobs in their fields of study while attending classes. This program gives students a chance to advance their skills by working for a real company. Students will get to enjoy the experience of living with and meeting new people from all over the world while working for the Disney Corporation.

The Disney program offers student real experience with jobs like Animal, Science, Environment, Agriculture Sciences/Horticulture, Creative/Design, Communications, Costume/Entertainment, Engineering, Event Planning/Production and much more.

SFASU students Tania Morales, Kyrstal Burleson, Scott Sampson and Sarah Ann Kinser spoke with students at the Disney internship program Q&A.

For many students getting employed by Disney is an honor. Students take pride in being able to go out an entertain guest who bring their families out to the Disney theme park for a full day a fun and adventure. While working for the Disney intern program, students get to network and build relationships with other students and their employers.

Students who decide to do the Disney college intern program can choose between the spring semester or fall semester. When a student signs up for the program they will have to go through an interview process over the phone. Once they’ve completed the interview there is a waiting time. The standard wait period is two weeks, in which the interviewers contact the student to let them know if they got the position they applied for. When applying, you have to let the Disney program committee know which semester and program that your applying for. The student must also tell the committee if they want to room with one of their friends. In order to be able to do this, the student must have enrolled in the program around the same time.

In order for students to be eligible to apply for the college program, the student must be enrolled full time or part time and taking classes. Freshmen can apply for the program but can’t use the Disney program as their first semester of school. Students that take time off are not eligible to apply. Seniors have to be enrolled in school when interviewed. Students must also be 18 years of age also when applying.

Disney is a very big corporation and has an image to maintain, so employees must abide by certain dress code and procedures when working. The Disney look is classic, clean and professional. For both male and females, no tattoos are allowed to be visible while working. Only women are allowed to wear traditional ear piercings. For males, their hair must be kept neatly cut and mustaches, beard and goatee are allowed, but must be neatly trimmed. Fingernails must also be clean and trimmed. Fingernails are not allowed to go beyond the tip of the finger. Female’s hair should be neatly combed in an easy to maintain style. Artificial hair must look natural. Make-up is allowed but must blend in with skin color. Fingernails must also be kept clean and not exceed one-fourth of an inch. Everyone must be responsible and show professionalism as well as good manners while working.

Students can choose between Lake Buena Vista, Florida or Anaheim, California when selecting a Disney location. If a student decides to go to California, they will have to pay for their own transportation.

Housing is obtained at the student’s expense.

The apartments are furnished for students, but the student must bring his or her own decorations, bed materials clothes. Students also need to bring their own TV, movies, and books for entertainment. Every room has cable hook ups and Internet. Inspections are weekly; no pictures or decorations are allowed on the walls.

The Disney program is an internship that pays students hourly. Students may choose to work indoors or outdoors, depending on their career or the role they are given. It’s a full time schedule for students were they have to work days, nights, weekends or holidays. It is also required for students to have flexible work schedule so they can work any day or time whenever they are needed. Pay is weekly and direct deposited in the students banking account.

There are many different positions a college student can do while interning for Disney. These positions include Food and Beverage, Operations, Lodging, Retail and Sale, Recreation and Entertainment. Each position has their own roles and there are more than 20 different positions. Character Performer positions must be auditioned for and are only available at the Resort in Florida.

If a student decides to take the intern program in the fall they will miss the holidays, meaning they wont get to go home to see their families for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Disney does offer students who decide to do this holiday dinners.

“Working for Disney is like working for a real job,”said Tania Morales. She then said, “make sure you’re early to work. Don’t be late,it is frowned upon.”

There are no regular summer programs although sometimes alumni are offered summer internship positions.

Things to do in downtown Disney Florida are going to the beach, boardwalk, volunteer, parks, and get into Disney’s them park for free.

“The beach is really nice [unlike] Galveston’s,” said Scott Sampson.

The Disney park program does come with perks, giving the intern six free tickets for family or friends. With the fast pass it allows the ticket holder to skip to the front of the line. The fast pass also gives cardholders discounts on merchandise and dinning. Free popcorn and drinks are favored items that are used with the card. Members also get a sneak peak of new attractions, parks and resorts.

To learn more and how you can apply for the Disney Theme Parks and Resorts Professional Internship please visit disneyinterns.com.

Sources:

http://cp.disneycareers.com/en/default/

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Financial Aid Issues

May 05, 2012   Marcus Reynolds

As the school finals are drawing near, and the 2011-2012 academic school year is coming to an end, it is time for students to prepare for summer school, as well as the fall semester. With that being said it is also time to apply for financial aid once again, as well as get registered for classes for the upcoming terms. However, this year many students are running into a problem that may prevent them from registering, or even attending any courses for a while.

Just this semester, the financial aid office at Stephen F. Austin State University decided to make a change to the requirements for the financial aid balance known as an “out-standing balance.” These changes affected the student’s ability to register for classes for the upcoming terms. 

In the past if a student had an E-bill balance of $200 or less he or she could register for classes without any problems. On the other hand, if their balance exceeded the $200 amount, a registration hold would be placed on their file until it was paid below $200. 

Unfortunately that is not the case anymore, the amount for an outstanding balance has decreased to $0. A student now has to have a balance or $0 in order to be eligible to register for any classes for upcoming terms. This becomes a problem for many students because many students depend on financial aid as a source of income to pay for classes.   But if their balance is not at $0, they can not register which means they cannot receive financial aid at all. 

Another problem is that some majors only offer courses during certain terms so if a student can not register due to financial aid issues then they could possibly be set back a few semesters from graduation. And a few more semesters in college means more money will be needed to pay for each extra term.

In today’s economy, financial aid is a must for most students attending a college or university. The amount for tuition and room and board is rising swiftly and they are becoming almost un-payable at times.

As a result of this, students are branching out and having to find and accept more loans in order to pay off the outstanding balances on their ebills. They also sometimes have to accept what the government calls a Direct PLUS loan. This loan is offered when a student’s limit in loans is reached. It is placed on the credit of the student’s parent but in the name of the student. For the students not willing to go find loans, they go out on the job hunt and in this economy, it’s usually not so successful.

SFA student, Aaron Anderson, said, “I don’t think the university cares about anybody’s personal budget honestly. They don’t understand the financial struggle college students face every semester.”

He went on to say, “to be honest, I really don’t know. I don’t know if the campus wants to build new things or if Dr. Baker Patillo just wants a bigger wallet. But either way it’s affecting what’s happening in my pockets.”

Many student on SFA’s campus feel the same way and are taking whatever steps are needed to get their account balance to $0 so that they are eligible to register for classes and receive their financial aid, but not without voicing their opinions.

Students all over the campus have been flooding the financial aid office with complaints about the recent changes and attempting to sign up for payment plans to clear their balance over a period of time. However the financial aid office doesn’t seem to be budging on their new policy. Students continue to struggle and financial issues continue to grow across campus.

 

Student speaks on financial struggle

 

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Graduates Find Difficulty in the Job Market Despite Success in Classroom

April 30, 2012   Micah Powell

As the calendar turns from April to May, SFA seniors work to put the finishing touches on their collegiate career. Caps and gowns are purchased and graduation invitations are mailed out as hundreds of Lumberjacks prepare to walk across the stage in the William R. Johnson Coliseum and begin their lives as college graduates.

For SFA alumna and Lufkin native Nicole Powell, graduation meant it was finally time to begin her professional career and move away from Deep East Texas. Graduating in December of 2010, Powell’s accolades had her on the fast track to finding a job in her field. Graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance, Powell appeared to have everything prospective employers looked for.

But the job market turned dry and left even the most qualified of college graduates without employment in the field of her choice. It happens every year as graduates struggle to begin their career because they lack one thing — experience. One of the most important parts of any resume is work experience in the field. It is also arguably the hardest thing to acquire.

“I know that the only reason I’m not getting the chance at my dream job is because of my lack of experience,” Powell said. “I have the accolades and I am a hard worker, but employers always want a year or two of experience in the field and I don’t have that. I can’t even get it because every employer, it seems, requires it.”

Powell spends most days on LinkedIn, a social networking site for professionals to connect with peers in their field, while scouring the Internet and local newspaper ads for any sign of a financial analyst position, her job of choice. She then goes to her job in registration in the emergency room of Memorial Medical Center – Lufkin. Powell said that the process seems like a dead end, but she knows she must press on.

“Every day is the same,” Powell said. “Apply for jobs, look for jobs and hope to get a call back. The thing with LinkedIn, after a few days I’m competing against 50 or so people for one job. Many of those 50 have the golden ticket with some form of experience. Eventually someone will take a chance on me and I’ll make sure it was the best decision they ever made.”

Powell’s situation is felt by nearly 50 percent of graduating seniors. According to a study done by the  John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, only 53 percent of college graduates from 2006 through 2010 are holding full-time employment.

According to the study, the time a graduate enters the job hunt plays a factor not only in their search for a job, but also the amount of compensation the person will receive.

“On average, there was a 10 percent “penalty” for college graduates obtaining their first job during the recession, compared with those who entered the workforce just three years earlier,” the study stated.

With the economy appearing to be on an upward climb out of recession, job outlooks are starting to look better for Powell and other graduates. Powell has several interviews in the next few weeks that have given her newfound hope of finally landing that allusive first job.

“I have noticed that over the past month or so I have been contacted about employment far more often than in the past year,” Powell said. ”Although I still do not have that experience that employers are looking for, I am getting closer and closer to acquiring it. I just have to stay positive and not get down on myself because there are thousands, if not millions, in the exact same situation as I am in.”

Interview with Nicole

 

micahdpowell@gmail.com

 

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SFASU Graduates look no further the JOB for JAcks Program is available for you!

December 07, 2011   Briana Garlow

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Mattress Firm’s search for SFA graduates

December 01, 2011   Jordan Boyd

Since the mid-1990s, Mattress Firm Co. has partnered with SFA to bring occupational opportunities to Lumberjack graduates. This year is no exception.

Mattress Firm CEO Steve Stagner, who is an SFA alumnus, has focused his efforts to bring recruiters and district managers here to illustrate the career opportunities Mattress Firm provides for students who have recently graduated college.

Erin Lindquist, who graduated from SFA in 2006, is a recruiter who was here to help spread the word about Mattress Firm’s expansion. 

“We are constantly growing,” said Lindquist. “And because we’re growing, we are constantly in need for more people. We have over 730 locations already, but we’re looking to expand into more markets.”

Even though they show promise and opportunity, many students do not know how their majors apply to a retail job. But Lindquist reassures those who have doubts that there is a need for diversity in the retail world.

“We bring back a really diverse group,” Lindquist said. “We have business majors, dance majors, communication majors. We are more focused on performance rather than background.”

Every employee goes through a four to six week self-paced training program before working for a Mattress Firm retail location.

“Even our CEO Steve Stagner started in our foundation starting program,” Lindquist said. “Our program helps tremendously and allows for Mattress Firm to be a stepping stone for your career.”

Students from all majors were invited to an informational seminar at the Rusk Building on Tuesday evening. This seminar showed the company’s future outlook and their plans to advance themselves.

Communication senior Clayton Sullivan attended the seminar and left with some valuable information.

“The meeting let us know what their mission was and what they want to accomplish,” Sullivan said. “They don’t have stores in, I think, about 20 states and they’re looking to expand, so there’s a lot of opportunity there.”

Starting with any company is always a new challenge. Moving up the corporate ladder is something many college students want to do, but sometimes they don’t understand how it works. In the seminar, even this topic was presented.

“You go in at sales, and then they have different levels and you can work your way up,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of opportunities to build yourself up and get to corporate and start making the big bucks.”

After the seminar, Mattress Firm set up interviews with applicants for Wednesday to see if they were ready and qualified to work for their company. These students will hear back from the company the week before Thanksgiving to find out if they will go to the next step in the hiring process.

But for the students who missed the seminar and interviews this week, Lindquist has good news.

“We’re back every semester, so don’t worry about missing us,” Lindquist said. “This isn’t the last you’ll see from us here at SFA.”

 

http://www.mattressfirm.com

http://www.sfasu.edu/controller/businessoffice

 


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Now Hiring

October 19, 2011   Randal Teater

Krystal S. cleans cold bar at end of shift

The cliche college student’s diet is a mixture of  unhealthy snacks such as Ramen noodles with a soda. These items, as cheap as they may be, still cost money. When the difference checks and the cash from home run out, and the last bowl of instant noodles was just consumed, many students turn to the log time easiest way of earning extra income, the part time job.

Morgan Oil Chevron employee rings up customer

Finding work in today’s economy is difficult to say the least, however here in Nacogdoches there would appear to be no shortage of minimal wage, part-time employment for those willing to just apply. Driving up and down University Dr. or North St. there is evidence of this in the multitude of help wanted signs posted. The combination of a healthy number of openings from employers looking for addition help, as well as a large possible work force of students is usually a great match for both parties. While many positive work relationships stem from student employees, there are ups and downs to the overall experience, as well as pointers many local managers would give to students looking to earn a little extra income.

In general, employers appear to have  a positive opinion of student employeesand with many stores reportedly having almost a quarter their employees being some type of student. Jim Hurst, a long time area manager for a group of Subway restaurants, states that student employees are ”Very good. They are becoming mature. The benefits of student employees are that they have a good work ethic, are honest, dependable, and neat with a good smile.” Hurst shows his commitment to keeping  student employees by making an extra effort to work around school schedules and constantly communicating with student workers, to ensure the number of hours they are working is not straining their school work load.

Subway sandwich artist builds order in between doing homework.

Good work ethics and a positive outlook aren’t everything though.  According to managers from Morgan Oil and Polk’s, two of the largest convenience stores/ truck stops in the area, availability is key to landing a part-time job with their stores. While both managers feel that a student’s schedule flexibility is a key factor to what makes them desirable as employees, each has a different perspective on just what type of availability makes a great student worker.

Each manager agrees that having students who can work on the weekends, when the other non-student employees want off, is a reason for hiring college students, however they do not agree as to whether limited weekday hours is a plus or not. One manager believes that because the majority of student employees limit the number of hours they can work, in order to balance work and studying, it is a good situation because other hourly workers wouldn’t have to worry about losing hours and wadges. Also the fact that they are usually young and do not have kids means that most bosses are looking for someone whom working late hours is not an issue for.

A surpriseing fact was found about the effects of having a job in relation to a student’s GPA in a study done by the American Council on Education. In public four year universities, such as SFA, student who worked did not have lower average grade point averages, and in many cases had higher grade point averages than their none working student classmates. From the study it showed that students who did not work had a grade point average of 2.91 while on the other hand students who did work up to 20 hours a week on average had a grade point average of 2.94. These finding go in stark contrast to the notion that students that can dedicate all free time to studies and not have to work will in general maintain higher grades.

One of the main reasons why so many employers, not just limited to local ones, look to students to fill in many of their part-time positions is from a logistics stand point they get more time for their labor hour buck. Student employees in  many cases are willing to work for less than someone who is an employee who works at a part-time position as a sole means of income and does not attend school or have another job. Unfortunately the idea that there is always another student willing to work for the same or sometimes even less thana current employee means that, in regards to seeking wage increases, student employees fight an uphill battle.

In terms of what types of business qualities employers are looking for in students many managers give the same answers as they would for a non-student employee: honesty, respect, good work history, team working skills, and personable behavior. Many managers also emphasize the fact that student employees are flexible in terms of professional mannerism knowledge, and are more often than not, able to learn new abilities quickly, as Jean Urban, local restaurant manager, puts, “If they are lacking in any particular skill, usually they pick up on them in no time.”

Some of the biggest issues with student employees according to one gas station manager boils down to classification, and more specifically, whether or not they are a freshman. This is because, besides not always being fully matured as an adult, freshman also have a higher turnover rate than other student employees. The higher drop out rate for first year students means that managers feel like they are taking a risk by hiring someone who might not even be in the area in a few months, which would cause the need to spend further time and resources training another employee often with little to no notice.

 

Ty'van T. cleans the floors during shift.

Despite the risk though most local management continue to hire SFA students to help fill out their work force, showing that here in the Nacogdoches area students looking for a job can rest assured that an employer is looking for a student.

 

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