More on- and off-campus work study positions are available than students to fill them this school year.

The reason, Financial Aid Specialist and Work Study Coordinator Lacey Lopez said, is a combination of students opting for online classes and departments offering more jobs as they increase staffing to pre-pandemic levels.

“I think the pandemic had a huge effect on our work-study program,” Lopez added, saying some students “may have a family member with an autoimmune disorder and choose to be around small crowds and limit people interactions, as Covid is still a factor.”

Work study is a federal program that allows the college to match students with jobs, mostly on campus.

Work study “is to allow students to have a part-time job to gain professional skills, while earning additional income to help with their college expenses,” Lopez said.

Students can find employment opportunities on AACC Riverhawk Career Connect.

Although the work study program hired 79 students this year compared with 51 last year, that was not enough to fill all the available jobs.

But Lopez said the program is starting to “gain our traction back to what we’re used to. … As we gained more presence back on campus, I have noticed departments are really rallying our students with opportunities.”

Lopez said students are also rallying.

“With each semester since [the pandemic] I have noticed a big presence and interest in students,” Lopez said.

Students who accepted work study positions said they discovered the opportunity by chance.

“I noticed, like, when [the Free Application for Federal Student Aid] came back, like, it had something about work study,” said photography student Carmen Scannell, who worked as photo editor for the student newspaper, Campus Current. “So I decided to look into it. I don’t think everybody sees that and knows that [work study] is a possibility. And that … so many different [jobs are] out there.”