8 hours x's 5 days = 40 hours

I’ve got a week of working eight to five (minus the 12 o’clock hour for lunch) under my belt. One down, eleven more to go. This summer, I opted to remain at school and work a forty-hour contract twelve out of the fourteen weeks of summer vacation. I work in the Advancement Office (which handles Alumni, Community, and Church relations for the College, as well as Fundraising), and while there are certainly some students who might disparage office work in favor of something less white-collar, I find myself aptly suited for the task. Maybe it’s because my parents are fundraisers. Maybe it’s because the majority of my previous work experience is office work. Maybe some mixture thereof. Who knows?

This will actually be the first time in my life where I’ll have been employed full time for such a long stretch. I did work fall break and the last couple of weeks of winter vacation as well, but now I’ll be working for three months. So far I’ve found that while doing the same task for eight hours a day may grind a little, the trade-off is that, unlike classes, the work doesn’t follow you home. I’ve also been asked to join in on the weekly Monday morning staff meetings, which has added some more context to the work I do in the office. The harder I apply myself in my work, the more responsibility and independence I’m being given, which is a liberating experience.

I’m also excited to be around campus this summer. In Advancement, we’re all gearing up for Weekend at Wilson in June, where people can register to participate in a series of workshops. Besides that, I’m especially looking forward to the return of the MFA Program to campus. I got to attend the evening readings over the winter break, and found it, as a Creative Writing major, both intimidating and inspirational.

A part of me is also impatient for summer to end. Working for Advancement this summer is sort of bittersweet, for while I do enjoy my work, it will be the end of my time on the crew. When the academic year begins in August, I take my position as Student Caucus Co-Convener and begin applying myself to facilitating the student end of Shared Governance at Wilson. With a Governance Task Force convened to review Shared Governance as well as a new Dean of Students, it’s a bit of a crucial moment to be one of the people at the helm of student governance.
Still, I’d like to make it last. My transfer credits give me only two years here at Warren Wilson, and I feel like I need to make the most of them. So, even though I’ve already finished one week of work, I still have eleven more to enjoy.

Alex