Written by: Lesieli Savelio
Southern Adventist University’s Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) project is partnering with the American Job Center for a new student employment initiative, according to Kimberly Crider, the DHSI project manager.
It is an opportunity for 25 students to do something meaningful, gain experience and get paid for doing it. Crider said this program is not connected to the DHSI grant that the university received last year.
“[The opportunity] kind of fell in our laps,” she said.
According to Crider, the program stems from a youth employment initiative created by Gov. Bill Lee, of Tennessee, a couple years ago.
“[Lee] wanted to give 3,700 young people around the state an opportunity to have some paid work experience,” Crider said. “ … So it has been determined that each one of those young people could earn up to $3,200.”
Crider said the initiative, which ends Aug. 31, is for students who have a financial need, have qualified for a Pell Grant or are not currently employed. To be eligible, students must be legal residents or citizens of the United States, under the age of 24 and returning to campus for the Fall 2024 semester. Applicants should fill out the job interest survey by Feb 19.
“The School of Engineering wants to help support this mission in Africa that is struggling to pay for their electricity.”
The DHSI coordinators reached out to all departments on campus to get their input and ideas about the initiative, and, according to Crider, the response was positive.
“We told departments to wave that magic wand and think about the opportunities that [they’ve] not had … or things that they wish that they had the resources or time to do,” Crider said.
The positions available through the program are new and not the typical student jobs on campus, according to Grace Tinungki du Bois, DHSI retention and resilience coordinator. She said this project opens doors for students to be able to do paid research or to complete an internship without leaving campus.
Tinungki du Bois shared some examples for what kinds of positions and projects departments are interested in creating through the initiative. The School of Music faculty would like to hire a student to help them start a system to contact alumni and gather information. She said the School of Engineering’s plans will have international reach.
“The School of Engineering wants to help support this mission in Africa that is struggling to pay for their electricity,” she continued. “ … Also, they plan to use this as a way to encourage engineering students to work towards making solutions to lower their energy costs. And so, they’ll be paying these students to do the research and kind of give practical ways for the people in Africa to utilize that information.”
According to Tinungki du Bois, departments can even recommend specific students for positions.
“We told departments to wave that magic wand and think about the opportunities that [they’ve] not had.”
Crider said the program is hiring statewide, not just on Southern’s campus, so a student who does not receive a position at the university could potentially work at an organization in Chattanooga or Cleveland, through the American Job Center.
“They’re going to be considered employees of the state; they’re not working for the university. … This is like a whole new ballgame.”
Tinungki du Bois said representatives from the American Job Center will attend Meet the Firms on Thursday, Feb. 22, to speak to the 25 selected students, and help them with the process and to assist those who might be interested in off-campus opportunities.
Three orientation meetings for the students accepted into the program will be held in March to go over the details of the initiative and how it works, according to the DHSI coordinators. It will be a new process, since students will not be hired through Southern’s Human Resources office or considered student employees of the university.
“They’re going to be considered employees of the state; they’re not working for the university, ” Crider said. “This is like a whole new ballgame. During the orientation meetings, we’ll go over the nitty-gritty, like filling out a paper time sheet, working with a site supervisor and how they’ll receive a debit card and be paid biweekly.”
Students who are interested in applying can scan the QR code and visit southern.edu/dhsi to see available positions.
