Students balance school, work

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat Tina Hayes, a UA marketing junior, prepares a smoothie for a customer at the Ultimate Smoothie counter in the basement of the Memorial Student Union. Many UA students find themselves having to work in order to pay for all their expenses.

"If I wasn't working, I'd be completely broke," said Saunders, a University of Arizona physics and astronomy junior.

His daily routine includes waking up early, going to class, then grabbing a quick bite before he heads off to work at Campus Athletic, 936 E. University Blvd. After his job, Saunders spends the evening studying.

This scenario is nothing unusual to many UA students. As rent, phone, and grocery bills pile up, a growing number of students are turning to part-time jobs to make ends meet.

Civil engineering junior Nicholas Lee works as a security guard at the Student Recreation Center.

Lee said he chose to work on campus because he thought the job would fit around his schedule.

"It can be tough, but it works out rather nicely," he said.

Civil engineering senior Chris Dicks also works on campus, at the UA Main Library circulation desk. He said it isn't hard to schedule hours around classes.

"People (bosses) here are pretty lenient and flexible," Dicks said.

He said he likes the job primarily because of the customers.

"Students are the friendliest people in Tucson," Dicks said. "Talking with students is not going to get boring."

Many Tucson employers said they are more than happy to hire students.

Matt Graham, manager at Geronimoz' Restaurant & Bar, 800 E. University Blvd., said hiring UA students makes good sense.

"We prefer hiring students," Graham said. "Most of our customers are students."

He said when business is slow in the summer, there are also fewer employees because some go home for vacation.

"Our business is in the shadow of the university," Graham said.

Terri Cobbler, manager of The White House clothing store, 825 E. University Blvd., has three UA students working in the store.

"A lot of customers are students, so they relate to the employees really well," Cobbler said.

She also pointed out the convenient relationship between seasonal changes in the volume of business and available help.

Although the employer-student relationship seems to be a good one, many students have a difficult time juggling school and work.

Emma Melati Burhanuddin, an operations management senior, works 30 hours a week at Baskin Robbins 31 Ice Cream Stores, 904 E. University Blvd.

Burhanuddin is only taking three credits this semester, but she has struggled with balancing work and school during previous years.

"I would get very tired," she said, "And it was hard to do my homework."

Graham said most students would probably have time for both school and work if they were willing to forsake their social lives.

"They have an easy time balancing work and school," he said. "They have a hard time balancing school, work, and partying."

He said sometimes students at Geronimoz' show up late for work - or not at all - because of too much partying.

But for the most part, employers seem to think it's worth the scheduling hassles to hire college kids.

"Students are dependable," Cobbler said.

Kate Goff can be reached via e-mail at Kate.Goff@wildcat.arizona.edu.