by By Emily Dziak
Roaming the halls of NCC, there was a common topic that seemed to fill everyone’s conversations; working. Many students have to work while in college, meaning they have less time to focus on school work, less time to spend with friends and family and less time for themselves.
Students at NCC agree working while studying can be stressful, but they also agree it teaches them responsibility, time management and organizational skills they need for adulthood.
After walking around NCC, here are what some students have said about how they handle working while in school, what keeps them going and how they find ways to cope.
Corey Steele, Computer Information Technology Networking major, 2019, says the first thing he does is set his work availability to the days he does not have school; Tuesday, Thursday, Friday night and Sunday. The second thing he does is he makes sure his schedule is full, so that the only free time he has is to go to school. “Or else I’d fail,” Steele said.
“Scheduling and accountability have a large factor in my success,” Steele said. During school and work, he has to make sure he stays organized. “Honestly, I think the constant workload keeps me going,” Steele said. “Every time I hand something in, it motivates me to hand in more and more until I complete the semester,” Steele said.
Dual enrollment student, Madison Walther, says she takes one class at NCC. While a senior at Freedom High School, she also works at Freefall Trampoline Park.
Walther says she works to keep herself busy. “I have really bad anxiety, so I need to stay busy, working while in school is the best thing for me,” she said. She needs to keep her mind off of overthinking. “What keeps me going is honestly the people I work with. My managers are super good with hours and are so understanding, which makes it easier,” Walther said.
Staying busy is just crucial for Madison. “I have a really bad habit of overthinking, and bad depression. So, if I didn’t work I would be sleeping all the time,” she said.
Calysta Miccicke, Interior Design major, works 25 hours a week while going to school full time.
“It isn’t a very easy thing to do,” Miccicke said.
She finds the best way to cope is by having good time management. “The only way for me to keep my schedule from getting too crazy is to keep a weekly schedule,” Miccicke said.
She always has her classes on her calendar, what times she works each day, and then she also blocks out time to get school work done. “I make sure I know what’s due for my classes each week, then make sure I give myself enough time to get it all done,”Miccicke said.
“It’s also very important for myself, and any other college student, working or not, to always find time for myself,” Miccicke said. Finding time to relax and calm down during her crazy schedule is what keeps her from feeling overwhelmed. “Even if it’s only an hour I take to do yoga, go on a long walk, spend time with friends, or even take a nap, it helps a lot,”she said.
Stephen Quigley, currently a sophomore with a nursing major. “I have two jobs and am usually a full-time student, it’s very stressful but I focus mainly on school. I always keep days apart from work to study and usually spend time on the weekends working shorter shifts then coming home to do homework,” Quigley said.
“I cope with the stress by never wasting any time. I get all my homework and studying done so that I have time to relax and hangout with friends,” says Quigley. He also uses art to blow off any stress and uses that stress to focus on something productive. “My schedule is usually very tedious but it’ll be worth it in the end when I complete school and become a nurse,” he says.
Ashley Vieira, sophomore, Criminal Justice major says, “Working and going to school is hard to balance.”
“You have to fit in school and work and let me tell you, it’s hard,” she says. Working 40 hours a week is difficult enough, but trying to fit school into that schedule just gets more frustrating. “The things that keep me going are that I just always tell myself it will be worth it in the end, and all my hard work will pay off,” Vieira said.
These students all have one huge thing in common, determination! Students who go to school and work are motivated, determined and resilient. Going to college is hard enough, add working to the mix and it can be very difficult to keep up and keep going. Students must take a break when they need it and take some time to themselves as well. Students who get their work done and put in hours at their job should be proud of themselves, we know it’s hard, but you got this. Keep working hard!
