Green River Hires Working Students to Pay For Rising Tution

With colleges increasing their tuition prices, employed Green River College students are grateful to have a source of income.

The cost of higher education has never been more expensive. Adjusting for inflation, a 2017 study by College Board found that tuition for public four-year institutions has increased by 213 percent over the last 30 years. For Green River students planning to transfer to a four-year college, the steep cost of living can be daunting. With employment, however, the threat of drowning in college debt can be somewhat neutralized.

Green River students work in an array of industries. Among the most common of these are food and sales. Steven Koestl, 19, has worked as a cashier at Fred Meyer since November 2017. On a typical work day, he is responsible for scanning items, completing transactions, and answering questions from customers.

“As anyone who works in retail can tell you, you have to be able to enjoy talking to people. Personally, that’s my favorite part of the job, being able to connect with all kinds of people from different walks of life and building a sense of rapport over something as simple as bread. What more could you ask for?” Koestl said.

Ironically, the hardest part of his job is also the part he likes the most: talking to customers. For every few hundred customers, he said, there are several who are difficult to deal with. “Who knows why that may be? Maybe they’re worried about a family member, maybe they’re on a copious amount of drugs, or maybe they’ve just had a rough day. It’s not my place to judge, but I’ll still do everything in my power to make sure they at least leave the store feeling better than when they came in,” said Koestl.

With his earnings, Koestl pays his way through college while saving what he can. “Being a cashier may not pay a six-figure salary, but I’m just happy I can enjoy what I do for a living,” he said.

Many Green River students find themselves working in the food industry. Megan Rohrbaugh, 22, has worked as a Starbucks barista in Issaquah since September 2017.

“It’s a small store, so I actually get along really well with my coworkers. We’re all friends, which is something I never would have thought could happen with coworkers,” she said. The added benefits of working for Starbucks, Rohrbaugh said, include full benefits for part-time work, her own partners discount, and a free pound of coffee every week.

While she doesn’t consider any aspect of her job to be particularly rough, there are some minor annoyances that are inevitable for a massive company such as Starbucks. “People can get very snappy about their coffee,” Rohrbaugh said.

As Starbucks has recently lifted a ban on loitering, Rorhbaugh, who typically spends her paycheck on groceries and college tuition, has witnessed some unusual behavior from customers. “There’s one guy in a blue jacket who only comes in to steal all the newspapers,” she said.

Another Green River student who works in the food industry is Alex Marx, 22. She has worked at Panera Bread in Maple Valley since August 2015. Like Rohrbaugh, her coworkers are her favorite part of her job.

“The staff is really great. The friends you make are more stable that those you make at school,” said Marx. “It can be really difficult to make friends at Green River.” When it comes to her least favorite part of her job, Marx is very specific.

“The worst thing is the wet produce. How often do you have to describe the worst part of job as ‘wet produce’? It’s terrible.” Admittedly, Marx said she mainly spends her money on things she doesn’t need.

For students still searching for jobs, Green River offers both on and off campus employment through GatorJobs. Launched winter quarter, this online job database helps students get in contact with local businesses who are looking to hire college students.

Students seeking on-campus employment can apply to be instructor assistants, tutors, graders, office assistants, Student Life representatives, maintenance workers, or even paid interns for the Green River natural resources program.

“We have roughly 500 students working on campus throughout the year,” said Student Employment Specialist Natalya Bronitskiy. Of these, around 200 students are involved in work study, allowing them to pay for their education while working part-time.

Work study guidelines dictate that employees must be registered students, have at least six credits, and work no more than 20 hours per week. This does not include breaks, where students can work full-time. Being hired to work for Green River is competitive, especially in the fall. “We always have more students looking for work than are funds available,” said Bronitskiy.

Students who are not hired will go on a waitlist. Once a job becomes available, waitlisted students can apply for the open position. The process of getting a job can be painstaking, but as many Green River students would say, the benefits are well worth the effort.