Research, restaurants and retail: There's a student job for everyone

From serving star basketball players smoothies to discovering the intricacies of plant biology, UNC students have a wide variety of part-time jobs.

Katie Kania, a sophomore majoring in linguistics, works at Smoothie King. While a regular shift usually consists of serving customers, preparing fruit and cleaning the store, sometimes work comes with surprises.

“When I was still super new on the register, Justin Jackson came in,” Kania said. “I didn’t know how to take his order and it was super nerve-wracking. Later, we bonded over how he gets annoyed at fan photos. I think I recovered from my mishap on the register.”

Kania said the pay is not the best, but she saves what she earns.

“The money I am earning I am putting aside to be used to either travel abroad during the year or during the summer,” Kania said. “I want to expand the linguistics knowledge I’ve learned in the classroom.”

Abigale Speight, a sophomore majoring in public relations, transferred to UNC this summer. She said working a part-time job at the Student Recreation Center has given her a sense of community.

“It’s so nice to be able to have a separate community within school,” Speight said. “Especially being a transfer, it is nice to have a place I belong.”

Speight said that unlike some students, she does not work for the money but for her love of Power Yoga, the class she teaches at the SRC.

“I enjoy the satisfaction of having a full class and seeing other people enjoy something I have such a passion for,” she said.

Andrew Smith, a junior majoring in peace, war and defense, works at Johnny T-Shirt because he appreciates its history. The shop is over 30 years old.

“There are former Carolina athletes that come in all the time when they’re visiting Carolina, that is pretty cool,” Smith said. “You see them on TV and then it is cool to see them in person. They’re a part of the Carolina family.”

Smith said that the college atmosphere of the job is one of the reasons he enjoys it so much.

“The best part of my job is being around Carolina stuff and being able to represent the University,” he said. “After we won the championship, it was crazy to see not only students come in, but the community come in and support Carolina.”

Stratton Barth, a senior biology major, researches environmental genetics — specifically, plant metagenomics — in Dangl Lab.

“My group studies the interactions between soil bacteria and plant development, specifically their impact on a plant’s ability to uptake nutrients for development,” Barth said.

He said the pay he receives is low, but the benefits of holding a research position outweigh the cons.

“My salary isn’t the highest when compared to other summer opportunities,” Barth said. “But I consider myself lucky because this opportunity will help me in the long term with my goals in science, as it is giving me a strong foundation.”

Barth concluded saying even though the research was difficult at times, it has helped him broaden his knowledge.

“The worst part would be that every day I spend here, the more I realize how much I don’t actually know about biology,” Barth said. “However difficult, I’ve really enjoyed my time here and am challenged to broaden my thinking in order to tackle different obstacles related to our research.”

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