Making Money

It's been over a month since I posted! I apologize.

Last Thursday, I too was a giant green highlighter, welcoming accepted freshman into the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter. I hope many of you decide to join us here at the best school in the city :)

Someone asked a question during one of the student panels about working. Fear not, young scholars, you are allowed to work!

The reason freshman are discouraged from working is because the transition to college can be a big, scary ordeal. You don't want to make it worse by burdening yourself with work - although there are many students perfectly capable of handling it. The overarching reason, which extends throughout your four years in college, is that you are held to a very high academic standard, and Macaulay doesn't want part-time work to get in the way of you succeeding academically,or limit your free time for taking on internships - a valuable learning experience.

Some students don't need to work, because their parents can support all their extraneous financial needs, or because they have outside scholarships. But you've gotta do what you gotta do. Which is why besides my five classes and my one-day-a-week internship, I have two part-time jobs, both of which I just recently obtained. I'm Chief Information Officer for the Public Policy Program (P-cubed) at Roosevelt House, of which I am a part. I manage the email account and the social media (FB, Twitter). And right now, I'm sitting at Knewton, an online test prep company where I do customer service one day a weekend (and have ALOT of downtime for homework).

Is it overwhelming? Yes, sometimes. Do I wish I didn't have to work? Yes, often. But it feels good to be financially independent for the most part, and to still be successful academically.

The great thing about Macaulay? They allow me to learn AND make money. I'm taking advantage of one of Macaulay's many research opportunities this summer, on a project called "Creating the Roosevelt Trail" which I'm really excited about. And the reason I can do this, instead of working another part-time job, is because I can use my opportunities fund to finance it.

Go Macaulay!

Good luck high school seniors - go to the school where you will thrive, as I have here.

-Kaitlyn
kt.ohagan@gmail.com