Summer Cash
your story
Incidental to many students’ college education are the summer jobs that teach life lessons and remind them why getting a diploma might be a good idea. Northwestern alumni and students share stories of the ways they cashed in on summer.
Prize employee
As a marketing intern for the Iowa State Fair the summer after my junior year, one of my duties was to promote the fair as Rosetta, the fair’s blue-ribbon mascot. The costume was ridiculously hot, but the internship led to a full-time job with the fair after graduation, and now when my interns complain, I say, “When I was Rosetta …”
Emily Hennager ’06
ANKENY, IOWA
Udderly fascinating
The summer after my freshman year, I roamed the East Coast with cousins who owned a traveling show. No, I wasn’t a carnie—well, sort of, I was. We stopped at fairs and carnivals with our pony rides and cow with spots in the shape of the United States on her side; we called her “Miss Ameri-cow.” Our chickens played tic-tac-toe, and we dressed our goats like local sports heroes.
Jenny Neuhauser ’00
PIERRE, S.D.
Smells like money
I worked on a dairy farm, not only milking cows, but also delivering calves and doing lots of other fun chores. One afternoon a colleague accidentally fell into the manure pit. Thankfully, we hadn’t carpooled that day.
Steve Vander Leest ’01
SIOUX CITY, IOWA
Yabba-dabba-doo!
Two summers I was the pride of Bedrock City, dressed as Fred Flintstone to greet visitors to a rather corny depiction of the cartoon character’s hometown in South Dakota’s Black Hills. I even “drove” Fred’s foot-pedaled car for parades and other special events. Parents were amused by me, and children ran away in fear.
Dave DeValois ’89
POLK CITY, IOWA
Cave woman
I was a tour guide at Black Hills Caverns, leading tourist groups ranging from three to 18 people through caves, sharing stories and cave legends. At 80 feet underground, I would demonstrate total darkness by turning off the lights, and my presentation would be drowned out by screaming kids. At 5-foot-2, I had no problem walking through the narrow, short passages, and I’d try to remember to warn “Watch your head!” but at least once a week a tall tourist would emerge from the cave nursing a wound on his bald spot.
Brittany Osborn ’09
RAPID CITY, S.D.
Fish ‘n’ foul
One summer I worked for the city of Rock Rapids, Iowa, my hometown. My memories include fishing a dead cow from the flooded Rock River and learning lots of new words I couldn’t repeat at home.
Jay Wielenga ’82
ORANGE CITY
Nanny insanity
Last summer I nannied in Wisconsin. I’d already been informed that the family’s last nanny, an alcoholic, had been “let go.” On the car ride from the airport, family members told me their former nanny had actually tried to commit suicide—in the room that would be my bedroom. Sure enough, there were still blood stains on the carpet and walls. I stayed, but by the end of the summer, I understood what may have driven her to the brink.
Margareta De Boer ’09
BOYDEN, IOWA
Wet cement
I worked for the state of Illinois for three summers, one of them on road construction. A girl on a construction crew is not needed or wanted. Most of the time, I sat on a pile of dirt and literally watched concrete dry.
Amy Vos ’09
STERLING, ILL.
Latrine link
One of my summer jobs was cleaning campground bathrooms two nights per week. The pay was lousy, the work was dirty, but the perks were great. The grounds included Lawsonia, a championship-quality golf course known as one of the best courses in the Midwest, and I was allowed unlimited golf for free the entire summer!
Jeremy Eisenga ’00
BEAVER DAM, WIS.
Catching some rays
A city girl, I stayed in Hinton, Iowa, last summer to rogue and detassel in the corn fields. My friends thought I was crazy, but I saw the sun rise every morning and learned a lot about corn.
Katie Bell ’09
BEAVER FALLS, PA.
Family business
I’ve worked construction with my dad the last six summers. He needs the help, and, of course, I need the money. The work—and my boss—are pretty demanding. I sometimes wonder what other summer jobs and opportunities I’m missing. The older I get, though, I’ve begun to realize how rewarding it is to spend time with my dad every day. He’s a very wise and discerning man, and I’m at a time in my life when I can use as much wisdom and guidance as I can get.
Joel Dykstra ’10
PLATTE, S.D.