Hello! My name is Katherine Burdick and I’m the First Year College Advisor at UNLV. In my role,
As an alum of CSN and UNLV, I am proud to assist high school students with whatever they
need to succeed after high school. Whether that’s applying to college/university, or preparing for
entering the workforce.
I am a first-generation college student and struggled financially so I had to work retail while
going to school full time. In my junior and senior year, this became much more difficult to
schedule so I started to look at more employment opportunities. One of my classmates worked
on-campus at UNLV and recommended me for a job in the Student Union. I had no idea what to
expect from on-campus employment, but I truly believe this changed the course of my life and
led me to continue my career in higher education. I was able to work and go to school at the
same location which saved me a lot of commuting back and forth and as a student first, they
had to work around my schedule. Being a student employee also created more accountability as
I had to maintain a specific course load and GPA to continue.
Through my years as a student employee, I held several different positions and learned so
much about my campus community, all while earning money! I met so many people from
different areas of campus and also met many wonderful professional staff members who offered
professional and personal advice on many different occasions. I also met other student workers
and made many new friends. All of this experience helped bolster my resume which helped
immensely when applying for employment opportunities post-graduation.
Currently at UNLV, we employ hundreds of student workers all across campus in so many
different areas. We believe that student employment only works to compliment your academic
and career goals. While the pay might be below jobs outside of campus, the flexibility and
priority of being a student first can’t be beat.
The Federal government has also realized the importance of student employment and as an
incentive to work on campus, the Federal Government also determines your eligibility for
Federal Work Study through your FAFSA application. Put simply, this means that your university
or college can receive funding from the federal government to employ student workers
throughout the academic year. This allows departments to create and fill student worker
positions. You can find more detailed information about Work Study here.
As you move forward in your academic career, I hope you find time to explore employment
opportunities on your college campus. Talk to your academic advisor or your college career
services department for student employment opportunities available.
