Stephanie Yeager is one of the student employees at Grand Rapids Community College who recently learned they would no longer have to spend $3.50 per day to park on campus.
Yeager, 33, makes $12.50 per hour at her campus job working up to 28 hours a week for Admissions and Student Services while also majoring in occupational therapy as a full-time student. She said she’s pleased that GRCC is now offering student employees free parking benefits.
“If I’m here every day, giving my time and commitment to working for admissions, I do think it’s nice to have that parking finally paid for,” Yeager said.
This announcement came as a surprise to many and was welcomed as a great step forward for student employees.
Cinthia Hill, 40, of Grand Rapids, emphasized the importance of the free parking benefit as it gives her more financial freedom.
“It was a great surprise, I didn’t know about it when I got the job and I was really happy to hear it,” Hill said. “It has helped a lot. I am a single mom, so it was a good benefit financially for me. It just helps me when money gets tight.”
Mary Slafkosky, vice president for College Advancement at GRCC, remarked how important this is for student workers.
“We are pleased to have more student workers on campus this fall,” Slafkosky said. “GRCC offered free parking, as an added incentive to those students, as a way to thank them for filling these necessary positions.”
The free parking perk for student employees began Aug. 21. The benefit was extended to Student Goverment and Campus Activities Board (CAB) on Aug. 25. GRCC administrators said the benefit will be extended to a limited number of Collegiate editors soon.
Students seeking on campus employment can visit www.grcc.edu/ses for a list of available positions on campus, or visit the Student Employment Services on the second floor of Ender Hall on GRCC’s Main Campus.
Collegiate Editor-in-Chief Blace Carpenter contributed to this story.
