Fusing work, hobbies and academics is an intimidating task for even the most disciplined of academics. With 24 hours in a day, Stetson makes the temptation to get overloaded almost irresistible, boasting 7 intramural sports and over 130 active organizations. This begs the question: what work is happening behind the scenes, to get it all done?
60 Seconds, 20 Calls, and 15 Hours On-Duty
A ton can happen between sunrise and sunset. Few people know this better than Stetson’s Resident Assistants (RA’s). Clocking in at 4:30p.m. and staying on edge until 8:00a.m. the next day. Bruno Soto ’26, a lead RA reflected, “My favorite thing about being an RA is working with the people on the team because RA teams are pretty close. There’s a lot of solidarity amongst having to put up with the same kind of nonsense.” Soto however is not ignorant to the role’s inherent challenges, he conceded “ I think the least favorite part [of being an RA] is that nonsense. Sometimes residents can be a little unpredictable. Some of them may have medical emergencies, others might…have lockouts at 3 am when you’re sleeping for an exam tomorrow.”
Mia Woollens ’27, an RA for Area 4 on-campus, adds insight into the experience. “I think that both positions really teach you skills in different areas.” Woollens further elaborated, “I know, for RA, [the position is], it’s very focused on like time management and, you know, caring for others, [and] with intramurals [there is a focus on] humility, assertiveness, confidence.” Not only does Woollens take on the task of RA on Sunday night, but on Mondays through Thursdays she takes on the task of intramural referee.
Late Nights at Rinker
Being an intramural referee can be a daunting task to take on at the beginning of your college career. When asked what sparked this decision Woollens shared, “I did the summer orientation with Stetson in…Summer 2023, and I went to, like, a little info session, and they had intramurals there. And I was like, ‘Oh, this looks really fun…How can I get involved?” She took the initiative of reaching out to the Assistant Director of Wellness and Recreation, Travis Potter, who agreed to set up a time for her to interview. The rest is Hatter History.
Lauren Atkins ’25 is also familiar with the busy lives of Wellness and Recreation employees. As one of the Hollis Center’s building managers. Atkins said, “During intramural games, there’s probably more than 80 people, 90 people, inside the field house every night.” She admitted that the balance can be difficult to find. “I’ve had to completely flip my schedule around…to fit all of the time I need to study, do homework,” Atkins shared. “ I’m up pretty early in the morning, and then when you work late at night, it’s like you’re going to bed at 11, 12, o’clock.”
Baking Our Cake and Dropping It Too
When people ask, “How do you get it all done?” the appropriate response is humble platitudes and general advice. However, appropriateness has never been the niche of college students. Instead when faced with this question, we may be tempted to flash a mile-long to-do list or recount the last time we slept. In the middle of “the grind”, temporary reprieves may come in the form of sweet treats from the coffee shop or in the case of Aviv Maddron ’26, a Publix cake.
After a difficult stint at a fast food chain, he had to learn some difficult lessons about the ways the night shift and academics can intertwine. “The store would close at either 2 or 3 am,” Maddron said, “but like, cleaning staff, we’d be leaving after that, like, four sometimes five o’clock in the morning.” Due to early morning classes, this schedule did not set him up for success. He confided, “Every other week I was sick because I wasn’t sleeping enough, wasn’t eating enough.” This is only one testament to how this schedule negatively impacted both their health and GPA.
Maddron, a fairly recent Publix hire in December of 2023, has been reaping the benefits of good management. With this new leadership Maddron expressed that his concerns were heard, which is not something he experienced under prior employment. He recommended that other full-time students not be afraid to communicate their workload to employers. In fact, “communicate with your management on getting better hours for the weeks you have tests or finals,” Maddron suggested.
Small Financial Line Between Love and Hate
Regardless of whether you can take the late-night hours head-on or if you need to depend on a strong dose of caffeine, it’s clear college students run on an unusual biological clock. Many of us may be like Maddron, who said, “If I had it my way, I would be in bed at eight o’clock every night.” Despite this, we recognize that college is a part of our formative years, and the pressure is on. Part of this pressure is financial. “If you’re like, trying to pay through college, you gotta pass college to actually get a real job… [or] a better job at least,” Maddron said. It’s easy to forget in the middle of the chaos that if our goal is to physically walk the stage and receive the diploma we worked so hard for, we will have to do more than keep ourselves together academically.
Finding ways to care for our physical and mental health, in the midst of a crazy collegiate schedule, may be one of the last things on your to-do list. The great thing is that they can be incorporated into your must-do’s! This can look like taking a break in between classes to yourself or can look like Woollens’ Sunday nights. “I have a lot of free time but I have to stay on campus when I’m on duty. So I take that time to, you know, like reset for the week,” Woollens shared. “You know, clean up my room, clean up my space, make sure that all my academics are done.”
Atkins also highlights a way that you can take a breather, within the work itself, stating, “I really enjoy my morning and afternoon shifts. Normally, those are the times when everybody is in class, or…you have your same people who come in every day, so you know that …nothing bad is gonna ultimately happen. So there’s a little bit of peace during those shifts.” Regardless of whether you’re on the clock or on your second Celsius, finding the right schedule and time to breathe is key to after-hours success.
