Bus driver, ASUCD Coffee House vendor and Dining Commons worker are only a few of the various jobs held by UC Davis students on campus. There are even more jobs held by students that are less common to the public eye.
While it is almost common knowledge that students are the bus drivers for Unitrans, they are also the mechanics that service the buses and the instructors that test the drivers of the various buses.
It is also students’ jobs to ensure that all is running smoothly; these students are referred to as route supervisors.
Junior plant sciences major Kevin Ross describes his job as having two parts. The first is as a dispatcher working in an office, sending for buses on call and dealing with shift changes, or what Moss referred to as the paperwork side of the job.
Moss said his favorite part of the job, though, is actually being on the road, doing anything from driving observations to ensure that drivers are being safe on the road to taking pictures of accidents. However, there are no limits to what the route supervisor will have to do on the job.
“You can’t sum up an average day. We are responsible for ensuring that Unitrans maintains its normal service for anything that may arise,” Ross said. “One time a guy took a duck that got hit by a bus to the hospital. It’s basically anything that happens out on the road. I prefer the route supervisor work, going out and doing stuff. I don’t really like sitting behind a desk so much.”
Hugo Jimenez, a fifth-year senior mechanical engineering major, is the Unitrans operations manager in charge of all of the route supervisors. He said that students working with Unitrans learn a lot from these jobs.
“It provides a lot of experience, like leadership, which I believe is necessary,” Jimenez said. “It also gives hands-on experience, getting skills that will help in a future career.”
Another job held by students that involves driving is with Mobility Assistance. Cody Chapman, a senior psychology major minoring in communication and Chinese, works as a student assistant driving a golf cart to pick up injured or disabled individuals.
“Whenever there is a student, staff or faculty member that is injured or has a disability, we give them rides to academic locations, like class, office hours or tutoring on campus,” Chapman said. “It can be anything from sports students or someone with a permanent injury or disability.”
A student, staff or faculty member gives their schedule to Mobility Assistance and rides are scheduled to pick them up. Chapman said that his job as a student assistant is the best on campus.
“You drive around in a golf cart all day, but you also get to meet everyone from freshmen who twist their ankles from intramural sports or staff members or grad students,” Chapman said. “The hours are pretty flexible, too, because you only drive when students aren’t in classes.”
Chapman also said that having students work this job proves to be beneficial because it helps the UC Davis student population as a whole.
“It’s students helping other students rather than someone doing it as their job. There’s more of a connection,” Chapman said. “Some of the kids I drive I am actually friends with now. It’s kind of cool.”
Another student job position on campus belongs to Jasmine Nasser, a senior community and regional development major.
Picnic Day is run nearly entirely by students. Nasser is the director of the Multicultural Children’s Fair, which involves a stage, exhibits, activities and arts and crafts geared towards kids.
“It’s fun,” Nasser said. “I like kids and doing crafty things. I just thought it was something to do.”
The board consists of 16 students, all of whom work toward a common goal of putting on a successful Picnic Day for their fellow students. Nasser was hired over the summer and has been working throughout the year with the board to organize the children’s aspect of the famous Davis event.
“Everyone knows about Picnic Day, so I thought it would be fun to actually be a part of it,” Nasser said.
Another hidden student job is located at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) in the financial annex. First-year student Haley Goldlist works as an assistant, collecting mail and matching patients’ payments electronically. She said the job is unique because of the flexibility.
“I can go in whenever I want and I work two hours a day. It’s flexible, which is good because I am a student,” Goldlist said. “It’s like the perfect job.”
As an undeclared biological sciences major, Goldlist aims to work in the medical field, therefore using this job as a stepping stone to her future career.
“Everyone is really friendly and it’s good to get to know people if I want to go into animal science,” Goldlist said.
UC Davis has various jobs for its students, which most believe to be a benefit of the campus, bringing students together.
“It’s students working with students,” Chapman said. “It makes a bigger community.”
Jobs with Picnic Day and Unitrans are posted on the ASUCD website at vacancy.ucdavis.edu. Openings with Mobility Assistance may be found at campusrecreation.ucdavis.edu. Positions such as those at the VMTH are posted on Aggie Job Link.
DEVON BOHART can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
