'Deskies' help students, assure parents and deal with oddities in the line of duty
They sort mail, safeguard students at night and ration out toilet paper — but for residence hall desk associates the job is all about the people.
“Interacting with people is the biggest thing," said Rockford sophomore Ryan Darby, a desk associate in the Towers. "Just helping people, and being comfortable with conversations."
It is the job of “deskies,” as they are commonly known, to provide services to the residents in their halls, but also to assist them in getting information about the residence halls and the university at large.
“Our main thing is customer service,” said Towers Desk Manager Amanda Johnson, a Warren junior. “We get questions, ‘Hey, can you help me with this homework?’ We get lots of crazy questions.”
Johnson said although most of their work is customer service, sometimes it is also parental assurance.
She said the parents of residents will often call to ask questions, asking for confirmation their child is behaving and going to classes.
“They’ll call and check up on their children,” Johnson said. “I had to tell someone, ‘No, your son is in the building. He’s standing right here.’”
Dillon Stanco, a Romeo junior, said he took a job as a desk associate at Saxe/Herrig/Celani for several reasons, ranging from convenience to future opportunities.
“I applied to be a (resident assistant), and if you’ve already been a desk worker, it looks a little better,” Stanco said. “Also, I like living on campus. I like not having to walk or drive to go to work.”
Stanco, a disc jockey and PSA director at Modern Rock 91.5, said while working late-night and early-morning shifts is difficult, it allows him to do some man-on-the-street publicity for the student-run radio station.
“All the customer service experience I’ve had helps me talk to everybody," he said. "And I cheaply plug Modern Rock constantly while I’m working.”
Stanco said unless a Detroit Lions game is on while he is working at the desk, the radio dial is always tuned to the station of his other on-campus job.
Johnson said odd situations come up sometimes while working the night shift, but she tries to take them in stride.
“I was new, didn’t know what to do, and a guy all the way from Thorpe (Hall) came in taped to a bed,” Johnson said. “He was sober and he had his ID, he was just taped to a bed. About 10, 15, guys were carrying him up to Wheeler (Hall).”
Johnson said while she allowed the resident in since he had is ID, resident assistants quickly saw and reprimanded the resident taped to the bed and those carrying him.
She is now in charge of training desk associates for the Towers, and said doing so helps with her career aspirations of becoming a teacher.
“It’s interesting, trying to come up with different ways to get people to retain information,” Johnson said. “This job definitely prepares you to deal with all sorts of personalities"
