PALS position opens for interested students

Another position has opened up for students on campus, this time as a coordinator with the Peer Assisted Leadership through Service Center. It is a paid position requiring approximately 15 to 17 hours per week with an $11 an hour compensation. According to their website, the PALS Center is a “student-run campus center that provides services and information for the Bellevue College community focusing on student success, leadership, community building and campus life and culture.”
As a PALS Center coordinator, students would primarily be focused on things such as customer service, cashiering, troubleshooting and basic sales including movie tickets and postage stamps. “The PALS Center Coordinator provides a connection between students and campus resources and specializes in student support services and the OneCard program,” states the application.  The PALS Center offers services including a mini computer lab, lockers, netbooks, ID cards, campus events tickets and information, parking passes, Scantrons, select art kits, transit information and much more. “Through our services we hope to create a place of community building and connection within the Student Union while providing a one-stop location for students and community members to connect to campus resources, find support, get their OneCard, and access other services such as an open computer lab, lockers, netbooks, etc.” reads their website.
Having worked at the center since its inception a year and a half ago, Fadrian ‘Ega’ Hartono, lead coordinator for the PALS Center, cites the opportunity to “get to talk to different people, make some new friends [and] help some new students who would need your services” to be the best part of the job. “It feels good when you know you helped other students in need because when people just [get] here they probably know nothing of the campus […] and you can actually relate for being fellow students,” continued Hartono. Additionally, the PALS Center self identifies as student friendly on account of being located directly on campus as well as having a willingness to work around students’ academic schedules, always putting school first.
As is the case with most jobs, there are pros and cons. Hartono identified the hardest part of the job to be maintaining professionalism and assisting students when they are already angry and frustrated prior to their arrival. Another difficult task that comes with the job was identified to be troubleshooting the technical issues that arise, especially when a machine is out of order.
The PALS Center is also home to the Peer to Peer Volunteer and Tiered Mentoring Progam, Phi Theta Kappa volunteers and the Office of Sustainability’s transportation services. “The PALS Center was born from Peer to Peer,” explains Hartono. The two programs work very closely with one another. In light of this relationship, the hiring committee will consist of Catherine Thruelsen, PALS Center supervisor, and Sai Guo, Peer to Peer Coordinator, in addition to Hartono.
Overall, “PALS Center Coordinators are hired based on their service and dedication to the Bellevue College community,” according to their website. Hartono sees a coordinator as someone who is friendly, patient and approachable. “[Being] punctual is important as well as attention to details because we have a lot of little things to pay attention to,” says Hartono. Last but not least, the applications list “be[ing] your amazing self” to be essential to the position stating that “our program thrives because of the experience that our student leaders demonstrate in each interaction with community members.”
With vacancies accumulating following the departure of staff members at the end of the academic year and fall quarter drawing nearer, the PALS Center will be closing applications at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7 with the intent of scheduling interviews with selected candidates on Aug. 12 through 15. For more information and a full list of qualifications and required documentation, please see the application. Applications can be found both in the PALS Center, C105, and in Student Programs, C212.