STORY BY JESSICA LYNK
Midterms. The word alone is enough to make any student shutter. When adding a job into the mix, it can cause added chaos. Whether it is a job through Drake University, an internship, an off-campus job, having added responsibilities can put an added burden on an already hectic week.
“Working during the week just gives me another thing to do on top of my already long to-do list,” sophomore Alyssa Wilkinson said.
First-year Meghan Baltas, who works at the Knapp Center, is reminded when she is doing her scheduling that midterms are approaching.
“They do remind us (of midterms) during scheduling. Because I work for the university, it reminds me while scheduling to take into account my course load,” Baltas said.
For Baltas, she finds that working actually gives her a productive study break.
“I actually scheduled myself during some parts of midterms because it forces me to give myself a slight break,” Baltas said. “I tend to overwork myself sometimes so sometimes a five hour break to work and watch basketball is needed to reset myself and get ready for more studying.”
First-year Jessica Cardarelle works as a hostess off campus. Working during the week can take away up to 15 hours of studying for her, but she does try to get more time.
“I think it is very difficult to try and balance that if you didn’t have coworkers who were willing to trade shifts with you,” Cardarelle said.
For her, working is important, even during midterms, because she needs the money.
“I would like to request off the week, but I don’t have the money. I want to do j-term next year and if I want to do that I have to save up money in order to do that,” Cardarelle said.
At the end of the day, working, even if during midterms, can be beneficial to help students mentally or with their careers in general.
“If I can do other things and get Bs, I’ll know I’ll be happier than not doing anything and getting As,” Cardarelle said.
