My Journey from a Campus Tutor to a Disability Rights Advocate
By Emily
Let me share my fascinating college journey, which turned out to be a stepping stone to my future career. It all started when the director of our university’s Writing Center offered me a job, barely a month into my first year. All thanks to an essay I had written that won a freshmen competition. Suddenly the vast sea of new faces seemed a little less daunting, and I was excited about having a work responsibility on campus.
Working at the Writing Center was a boon for me. Not having a driver’s license, I couldn’t look for jobs off-campus, and this role was just five minutes away from my dorm. It gave me a sense of belonging to a community, and my colleagues quickly became close friends.
I committed to a 15-hour per week schedule, helping students from various majors with their writing assignments. Being a tutor not only improved my social interactions but also helped me build a strong resume. At that point, my career plan was to teach high school English. Helping others, enhancing my writing skills, and getting paid for it was a dream job.
To be honest, a lot of my enthusiasm came from the fact that this was my first official job. By the end of each day, I felt accomplished and proud. I was responding to the values my parents taught me about financial responsibility by earning my own paycheck.
But the tide turned a few semesters in, when my courses got more demanding and my career focus shifted. Tutoring was great, but the workload was becoming too much. I still loved writing and helping people, but now I wanted to use these skills for promoting disability rights, something close to my heart.
Due to Larsen syndrome, a physical disability I was born with, I’ve always been conscious about disability rights. Realizing that I could use my writing and communication skills to become a disability rights activist was a moment of reckoning, and I decided to switch jobs.
Leaving the Writing Center was tough; I realized I’d miss the people, the rewarding experiences, and of course, the paycheck. But soon enough, I found that it was the right decision. Less work pressure gave me time to balance my social life, finish homework earlier, and even take on two new jobs, both of which helped me follow my advocacy dream.
The first job was a hall attendant; a simple task of signing people in at my dorm, which allowed me to study simultaneously. The second opportunity came in my senior year, where I got to work with a student with Asperger’s syndrome, combining my tutoring and advocacy skills.
My college jobs helped direct my life towards my true passions. They taught me the importance of earning my own money, helped me build an impressive resume, and took me closer to my dream career. Now, as a recent graduate stepping into the real world, I am thankful for the insights these college jobs provided. They showed me the importance of work and taking chances that could shape not only my college experience but also my future.