This position gave me the opportunity to connect with SO many people in my field, both at UMW and in the Fredericksburg community. It has also allowed me to strengthen my leadership skills immensely. It is a super flexible job, in the sense that you can make the position to be what you want it to be which I have loved the most about it because it allows you to be creative.
What I wish was different
Advice
Be good at communicating with people both in person and through media platforms. It's not a position to be shy in. If you are shy, this may be a great opportunity to strengthen your communication skills so I would advice pushing yourself and applying. It has helped me a bunch in that sense.
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Orientation leader
June - July 2019 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
I liked helping new students find their home here at UMW.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Orientation Leader
May - August 2019 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
i loved the atmosphere and the experience I got, as well as everyone I got to meet.
What I wish was different
Nothing, really!
Advice
It's an amazing job and experience that is so helpful in making new freshman feel welcome to the school.
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Student painter
May - August 2019 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
I liked the opportunity to work on campus and give the residence halls a fresh coat of paint quite literally. It was also a good opportunity for me to work on my leadership as I was in charge of a small group.
What I wish was different
I wish I would have voiced some of my problems with my fellow painters to my boss because we were not as efficient as we could have been.
Advice
It can be really monotonous work but it's rewarding to come back and look at the good job you have done at the end of the day.
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Orientation Lw
May - July 2019 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
What I wish was different
That the summer weather was not as hot.
Advice
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Special Project Coordinator
May - August 2019 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
I enjoy the flexibility of the job and how I was allowed to collect information regarding student life for students with disabilities on campus. This issue is very close to my heart and I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to research and collect information to present to the school to improve her conditions.
What I wish was different
I wish I had more time to work on my rules as a special project coordinator. Lack of time was due to my job at anytime fitness and a family reunion that occurred in July. There was a lot of stress going on and I wish that I was able to have this role in a more calm time in my life.
Advice
My advice about this would be only work one job if you can help it. I worked a manager job at any time fitness while balancing this job and I felt like it took away from the time I could’ve spent in this role of special project coordinator. Granted, I did need the money and the job experience as a manager was great at anytime fitness, But I feel like if I had more time for my special project coordinator role I could’ve done so much more. The only thing that made it difficult was the special project coordinator role paid pretty low as to be expected with the campus job. I live off campus and I have to endure a lot of medical expenses due to my condition and disability so living off of these wages would’ve been impossible. Hence making my job anytime fitness a necessary evil.
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summer conference assistant
June - August 2019 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
I appreciate the quality and standard that they tried to uphold for their clients who they worked with. The structure that they applied from top down from the supervisor to the assistants was consistent throughout the job and communicated what was happening within the higher ups.
What I wish was different
I would have liked to see more organization in some areas such as scheduling and transparency on what the position genuinely entailed. As well as more up to date procedures and policies to the clients to adhere to create a more organized environment.
Advice
I would advise that flexibility is an essential in this position as well as readiness to help. It does not allow for you to set your schedule but, demands a fair amount especially in peak season.
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Summer Conference Assistant
May - September 2019 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
I enjoyed being an ambassador to our school!
What I wish was different
I do wish the department was a bit more organized when it came to communication
Advice
Get to know your coworkers! Working together saved time and made the experience much more enjoyable.
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Student paint crew
May 2018 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
As a supervisor on the paint crew I learned how to assign roles and handle random hurdles. I also enjoyed being able to give back to the school by making it look nicer.
What I wish was different
I wish the building, Arrington, I was working in hadn't had most of my crews hard work torn out due to the mold.
Advice
You can't force people to come to work and you have to have a backup plan for when you are short staffed.1
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Sustainability Coordinator
May 2018 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
I loved the opportunity to learn new things and the ongoing opportunity to drive change on campus and in the Fredericksburg community.
What I wish was different
I do wish this job came with benefits, for example help with college tuition.
Advice
I would advise to not let the fear of not knowing everything about a field keep you from trying.
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Archaeological Field School TA
May - June 2018 • King George, VA
What I liked
Experience in the field.
What I wish was different
N/A
Advice
Stay at the provided housing location rather than commute
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Office Assistant
June 2018 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
Supervisors are very kind and clear in their expectations
What I wish was different
I wish I could have been full time
Advice
Always be open and kind to your mentors. They'll think of you when running into job opportunities
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Student Researcher
June - August 2018 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
Flexible work hours, interesting subject matter.
What I wish was different
Bureaucracy in getting hired.
Advice
Document your hours early.
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Orientation Leader
June - July 2018 • Fredericksburg, VA
What I liked
Everything. Meeting the incoming students, working with other OLs, especially working more one-on-one with Dean Jones. It was all just so much work, but so much fun.
What I wish was different
We really didn't get paid enough for working 18 hour days consistently.
Advice
Once you've committed, you can't just put in partial effort. It will take all of you and if you can't give that then don't sign up.
