At 3:30 a.m. most insomniacs are finally getting some sleep. For English freshman Jacqueline Boehm, her day is just beginning.
Early Monday morning, Boehm prepares for her job as night receptionist at South Hubbard Hall.
With only two hours of sleep, Boehm applies a frozen ice-mask over her face in an attempt to wake up. Boehm said at first it was difficult for her to adjust to working from 3:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.
“I’ll usually be tired in the late afternoon or evening,” she said. “I can nap much easier now.”
Boehm said she was skeptical at how well she would be able to work the odd hours and keep up with school work.
“It seemed like an easy task to do,” she said. “Most importantly, it ended up not taking time away from my studies. I get most of my homework done while I am working.”
After work ends at 7 a.m., Boehm heads to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. She goes directly to an 8 a.m. class, followed by a 9:50 a.m. lecture. The class ends at 10:30 a.m. and Boehm finally gets to sleep. She sleeps until 3 p.m., completes homework assignments, eats and then goes to a 7 p.m. class.
“I really don’t think it’s a job for everybody,” said Boehm. “You almost have to have an internal clock.”
Angela Charsha, the night receptionist coordinator at Hubbard, says students interested in the job have to be disciplined.
“Students have to be responsible, respectful and assertiveness helps in some cases,” said Charsha, a second year Student Affairs graduate.
Kate Murphy, assistant director to the Department of Residence Life, said mature, good decision- makers and knowledge of area resources help confirm a qualified night receptionist.
Murphy said the program has been a success since its birth in the 1960s. Until then, women were required to stay in their rooms after 11 p.m. A large movement to abolish this rule led to the birth of the program.
“We need to ensure that students are safe and secure in their dorms,” Murphy said.
Murphy said night receptionists reprimand one or two suspicious strangers per dorm every semester.
Murphy said she advises students abide by campus security policies in order to ease the job of the 200 campus wide night receptionists.
“Don’t prop the exterior doors open, be responsible for your guests and report any suspicious or nonresident person to a residence life employee,” she said.
