Working at the University that I Attend

           The first 2 weeks of classes has come and gone which means only one thing for employees of ONU Phonathon, calling starts this week. I have worked for Phonathon since the beginning of last year. I started as a caller and after a semester of calling I was promoted to a supervisor position. Getting a job at Phonathon was one of the best things I’ve done here at ONU for many reasons and it’s also one of the best jobs I’ve ever had, and I’ll tell you why.

           

            Being a caller for Phonathon was one of the most useful, fun jobs I’ve ever had. First of all, the environment of the caller center was very laid-back and a great atmosphere. Before every calling shift, we do what is called “caller intro,” so we got to know about each caller and supervisor there during shift and a fun fact about them as well. This made it easy to get to know each person you were working with for the night and develop friendships during shifts and even outside of work.

            Another fun part about being a caller is connecting with the alumni. As expected, there are the stereotypical people that get really angry and rashly yell at us for no reason other than they don’t want to be bothered. But there are also some alumni out there that truly loved being a polar bear and love hearing from people still on campus. I had 2 very memorable calls in my semester of calling and it made me realize why I dealt with dial tones for 3 hours a night.

            The first memorable call I had was a nice lady who had just graduated in the early 2000’s. She started the call off by telling me she knew I was calling to ask her for money and the only way she was giving was if I told her about myself and why I was at Northern. I was shaken up because I was new to calling and I already had to go off script, but it allowed me to tell my story and share to an alumnus why I too chose to “polar bear up.” She was very happy to give after I chatted with her for about 25-30 minutes about my experiences and hers here at ONU.

           

            The second call was one that I never expected. After the first 5 weeks of calling, my boss decided I was ready to move up in the ranks and start calling members of what we call the Lehr Society. The Lehr Society consists of alumni that are very generous and give thousands of dollars to ONU every year. I was extremely nervous to start calling such prestigious people in the eyes of ONU. I got to one guy and saw he was an engineering major so naturally I started asking if he knew about the new engineering building. Of course, he said yes so, we talked about that for a while and the part of the call came when I asked for a gift. I looked down and saw his giving history of $20,000. I sat speechless for a few seconds and asked him about the amount. It was an amount dedicated to the new engineering project. I was uneasy, but my job was to ask him for a renewal of that absolutely insane amount of money. He went on to explain about how his engineering career had taken off and how he would be happy to give another $20,000 this year to dedicate to the engineering school. I received a gift of $20,000 that night and I don’t think any call I had working for Phonathon could ever top that.

            After my first semester of calling things changed. My boss, Evan, decided to promote me to shift supervisor. My job description changed as I no longer called alumni but watched over the callers as they did their nightly calling. Being a supervisor also comes with a pay raise, but it requires more work. I have office hours where I code calls, follow up with alumni that were called the night before and I get to not only represent the Office of Annual Giving here at ONU but the university as a whole.

           

            One of my most memorable experiences as a supervisor was getting to go to the Lehr Society dinner when we invited ONU faculty/staff and members of the Lehr Society to come to campus and eat dinner and socialize in Mac Ballroom. This event is also a time when ONU inducts new members into the Life Lehr Society which is when an individual has given the University over $100,000 in the course of their lifetime. This was an incredible accomplishment for these individuals and it was incredible to get to share an evening with them and get to connect with so many proud polar bear alumni.

            Overall. Phonathon has become a huge part of my life on campus and I’m so happy at what it has done for me as a student and a professional. The connections I’ve made with alumni, the friendships I’ve made with coworkers, and the work experience I’ve gained from working multiple positions within Phonathon have been an experience I will never regret.