Finding a place off campus to stay over the summer can be a hassle, but students working for Penn’s Residential and Hospitality Services never have to worry because their housing is already provided on campus.
Over the summer, Residential and Hospitality Services employs close to 90 students, who take charge of planning and arranging accommodation for conferences that take place on campus every summer.
The conferences include summer camps, professional workshops and high school programs.
"In return for the housing allowance, these students serve as our eyes and ears being in residence along with the over 5,500 guests we house from Late May through mid-August," the general manager of Hospitality Services, Jeff Barta, said in an email.
For rising College senior Madeleine Stokes, the chance to explore Philadelphia while receiving free on-campus housing was enough to persuade her to work for Residential Services during the summer. Stokes said other job offers she had received were either unpaid or didn't provide housing.
“I’m from a very low-income family, so if this [opportunity to work for Residential Services] hadn’t come along, I don’t know if I’d been able to work in Philly,” Stokes said. “I probably would’ve had to work at home.”
Similarly, rising College senior Maria Gonzalez said the free housing is a big draw when applying for a summer job. This summer will be the second time Gonzalez, who is originally from Colombia, is working for Residential Services.
“I was looking to sublet places and I didn’t know what I wanted to do during the summer, so the opportunity to work on campus, see friends and get free housing was great,” Gonzalez said.
“It’s not the highest pay, but it makes up for it because I don’t need to pay for anything else, like electricity.”
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