Fordham Five

Fordham Five: Jobs You Can Get Without Work-Study

1. Resident Assistant

The Resident Assistant position may be the most competitive job to get on campus.

It involves an intense application process that includes a series of interviews — that includes conversations with other potential candidates, at least two Resident Director and current RA’s — three letters of recommendation and a meet-and-greet with the Office of Residential Life.

“The last interview concerned what I would do as an RA,” said Vicki Gruta, FCRH ’14. “This was also for determining what population I would like to work with, and I very enthusiastically said I wanted to work with freshmen. I got the job and got to work in my dream building: Queens Court.”

RAs are responsible for a number of students in each of the dorms both on and off campus.

“As an RA, I’m basically a resource for students,” said Victoria Affrunti, FCRH ’15.  “If a student needed help with anything — their sink is broken, they dropped their keys down the elevator, or they simply need a guest pass –  that is why I’m here.”

Applications for next year’s RA positions are out now.

2. Wedding Coordinator

Through Fordham’s Office of Campus Ministry, any current student, staff, faculty member, or alumnus of Fordham University (or Fordham Prep) is able to get married in the University Church.  Campus Ministry provides a student wedding coordinator to help the couple on their special day.  Wedding Coordinators assist and instruct the wedding party on the rules and processes of getting married in the Church both on the rehearsal date and the day of the wedding.

“A couple days before the wedding, we go through the plan of the wedding and help the wedding party practice what will happen on the wedding day,” said Becca Curland, FCRH ’15.  “On the wedding day, we help set up the church, coordinate with anyone else who is working on the wedding and assist any wedding guests who need help.”

To apply, email weddings@fordham.edu.

3. Security Office Desk Assistant

While the Security Office does employ students as a part of work-study, it is possible to get a position without it.

“At the beginning of this semester, security sent out an email to students who had been on a waiting list looking for jobs and asked if they’d be interested in working for the office,” said Katie Frattarola, FCRH ‘15.

Frattarola’s job is to help the security staff member who is on duty by answering phones and listening to the radio in the office for any breaking updates.

“The best part of being a security office desk assistant is seeing all the crazy things that happen on campus,” Frattarola said.

To apply, visit the Security Office and ask if there are any available shifts.

4. Campus Ministry Student Interns

Campus Ministry doesn’t offer work-study jobs, so they have a couple different positions for students that are paid.  Any day of the week you can walk into the Campus Ministry office and meet one of their many interns.

“Daily tasks in the office rotate on a weekly basis, and I never get bored,” said Elizabeth Russo, FCRH ’16.  “Mostly I promote campus ministry events through flyers, posters, and social media.  I’m also in the process of learning how to manage the website.”

Peter Welch, FCRH ’15, is another student intern who is in charge of the web page design and creation of public relations materials for the Office of Campus Ministry.

“I have been working as a student intern in the office for almost a year now and find it helpful in discerning what I want to be doing in the future,” said Peter.

Elizabeth works ten hours a week in the office.  She enjoys meeting all the new people that come into the office and the overall friendly environment.

To apply, see Gil Severiano in Campus Ministry for an application.

5. Tutor

Through the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at Fordham, students who meet specific educational and economic status are eligible to receive tutoring from Fordham students who excel in academics.

Christine Campbell, FCRH ’15 was asked by Biswa Bhowmick, the head of HEOP if she would like to be a tutor.  Together they discussed the subjects Christine would be comfortable tutoring in and was then given a list of students.  The students requesting tutoring reach out to her, usually via text, about meeting up to go over upcoming assignments.

“I’ll usually meet with them in the library, and they ask me specific questions about things that they either didn’t understand in class or need more clarification about,” said Christine.

To apply, contact Biswa Bhowmick at bhowmick@fordham.edu.