Brian Jones, features editor

As a new fall semester lifts off, various students are either looking for an on-campus LifeWorks job or on the hunt to switch from their current position to another. LifeWorks offers Berry students with eight semesters of paid work throughout their college experience. A wide range of jobs are offered, whether that occupation is remote on a bench or making said bench in a woodshop.

Generally, the incoming or attending Berry student would think of positions such as Admissions Student Ambassador, Swift & Finch barista, or any number of sit-down jobs on campus. 

A question then arises of: “What about the students that aren’t looking for a career in those fields?” The importance of any approach to LifeWorks lies in understanding the many different and unique opportunities the program provides to a wide range of students.

In practice, three current students work in a subsection of LifeWorks called Student Enterprises. They find their positions financially beneficial for Berry, while also fulfilling their career goals. The program was founded in 2008, with the vision of a more individualized practice of business and
life skills. These enterprises offer students a window into specialized, hands-on work experiences.

Junior Andrew Little was assigned the position of production assistant at Viking Furniture his freshman year. As production assistant, Little said he doesn’t have a set schedule each day, since Viking Furniture produces a variety of different furniture items and runs on a to-order basis. Items produced by Berry Students include Adirondak chairs, cutting boards, benches and many other tools and furnishings. Each furniture item order requires a different set of skills.

Little said that although his schedule is ever-fluctuating, he has boiled down his day into a few core tasks. 

“I feel like that kind of engagement with LifeWorks can lead to something completely eye-opening and inspirational.” Liam Rothrock

“My day to day will usually be me walking in and figuring out what needs to be done,” Little said. “We’re in the shop, cutting wood, preparing for the orders that we have needed to get done or we are preparing for the markets.” 

Sophomore Liam Rothrock works as an operations assistant for Berry Bees. On a regular workday, Rothrock either checks and feeds beehives or works on the production side.

“I have two shifts per week,” Rothrock said. “One is usually a hive check or hive feeding for the bees. That’s when I’m going out in a whole entire bee suit and checking on the hives, pulling out frames, etc.”

Rothrock said the other part of his job consists of creating products from beeswax produced in their hives.

 “The other half of the time, we’re doing production shifts, Rothrock said “That’s when we are making all our beeswax products, like lip balms and candles.”

Freshman Nikki Woods is a milking trainee at the Berry Dairy, located at the Rollins Ruminant Center. The Dairy works at the epicenter for products sold at Jersey Milk, a Berry Student Enterprise.

Woods says her day consists of being trainee on the process of milking Berry’s cows, with actions ranging from changing milking pipes or the milking itself.

“We have a shift lead who will tell each section, which is feeding calf barn, and milking, what we’re supposed to do,” Woods said. “[Once at the milking parlor] I would grab the tablets for milking, fill up, change the pipes and get cows into the parlor.”

Being a biology major, Rothrock recalled that his BCC100 mentor was his first guide into the world of Berry Bees.

“[My BCC mentor] knew the general manager from Berry Bees and knew that they were hiring for the fall,” Rothrock said. “I didn’t have a LifeWorks position yet [and the job] was so interesting that I just wanted to apply immediately.”

Woods, being an Animal Science major, says her appreciation for LifeWorks lies in the focused education of working with animals.

“I want to be a vet for large animals, like horses and cows,” Woods said. “Having experience being able to work with and handle bigger animals is important. Getting experience when you’re younger is a lot easier than when you’re older, because things will stick more.” 

Little explained that he wanted to avoid a regular sedentary position. His woodwork experience in high school helped prepare him for his on-campus job. Berry then provided him with the opportunity to do so through Viking Furniture.

“In high school, I took two years of carpentry,” Little said. “Coming out of [high school], it was basically my best experience. I was just like; ‘I don’t want [a desk job].’  ‘I’m happy with anything else.’”

Rothrock said LifeWorks provides students with a wide array of opportunities, along with real world experiences that other colleges can’t provide. 

“If I’d never gotten involved with LifeWorks, I would never have learned anything about beekeeping,” Rothrock said. 

Rothrock said that this position provides an meaningful vessel between career goals and  intentional work.

“The fact that LifeWorks provided the position for me to be able to get into what beekeeping is like, I’ve got to give props to [Berry],” Rothrock said. “I feel like that kind of engagement with LifeWorks can lead to something completely eye-opening and inspirational.”

Rothrock said that his time at Berry Bees has opened his eyes up to an idea bigger than Berry: a vision of how we can improve and better our environment.

“That connection that bees have between our culture and environment is a core, integral part of both environmental science and conservation,” Rothrock said. “If we’re going to help the environment, we [must] be connected to it.”

Little says that LifeWorks gives students real world experience beneficial to their time after Berry.

“[Berry] very much highlights the fact that when you leave college, you’ll have that professional experience,” Little said. “I think that is something that stands out a lot [at Berry]. You have ease of access to be like, ‘I have something on my resume.’ ‘I can present this to my person’. ‘I’m trying to get hired by him’.”

The program strives to serve as the epicenter for Berry students to find their “professional home”.

“I couldn’t see myself doing almost any other job right now,” Rothrock said. “I just love working with the bees so much to the point where I’m just being paid to have fun. I just love it so much.”

In all, it is important that current students having trouble finding the perfect LifeWorks job for them are able to venture out and find it.

Little said the importance of LifeWorks lies in the Berry student figuring out what is most suitable for them, and that the first step would be to change it up if you aren’t comfortable.

“Your first job might not be the one you get stuck with or the one you like at all,” Little said. “[The LifeWorks job for you] doesn’t have to be your first. That is the important part.”

Negative attitudes toward LifeWorks tend to only stem from a 2-D array of popular jobs on campus.

Little says that once you have found your calling at Berry, showing up everyday starts to get a whole lot easier.

“I get up a lot of the days, looking to forward to work,” Little Said. “Some days I just don’t feel well. Honestly, meaningful work really does change that mindset.”