Thomas Dale
Contributing Writer
tadale@valdosta.edu

$276.00

Delta Meade hurriedly steps through the hospital parking lot, cell phone cradled between her blue-scrub-covered shoulders and her defiantly curly hair.  As she ruffles through her purse to find her keys, frustration invades her face.  She lets the phone drop into her hand, slamming it shut in one smooth motion.  “$276 this week,” she says.
It’s abnormally mild for the last day in February, but the rainy weather makes the day seem a little cooler.  Delta flicks on the windshield wipers as she drives; her shift at MovieStop starts in an hour, and she doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get there.  The typically 20 minute drive is lengthened with a stop at the Chik-fil-a drive-thru.
“I try to spend only about $10 a day on food,” says Delta as she reaches through the window for her sandwich.
“Fast food burns through a lot of my food budget, but it’s hard to eat at home when you’re always out.”

$10 x 7 = $70    $276 – $70 = $206.00

Delta is a 22-year-old student at Macon State University.  She lives in Byron, a small town 15.3 miles south of Macon and makes the there-and-back drive between the two cities at least six times a week, spending roughly $30 on gas.
“Thank god gas prices have gone down,” Delta says.  “I was spending $50 a week on gas just a few months ago.”

$206 – $30 = $176.00

It’s 4:55 p.m. when Delta gets to her second job at MovieStop.  She opens the trunk of her car and grabs an armful of clothes to replace her hospital required scrubs—she’ll change in the store’s employee bathroom.  You can see how tired she is as she pulls open the heavy metal and glass door; Delta has already had a long day.
Her weekend began at 6:30 this morning with a rattling alarm clock.  The early 8 o’clock shift at Coliseum Northside Hospital won’t wait for her.  Delta spends her time carefully preparing prescription medications for patients at the hospital, measuring pills and I.V. packs.  Delta knows how important her job is: she is never late and rarely misses a day.   Her eight hour shifts are draining, and she works three, sometimes four of them a week.
Seeking independence, Delta moved out of her parents’ house at the very beginning of this year.
“Of course they’d help me if I was in trouble,” says Delta, “but I’ll never ask them for money if I can help it.”
Delta lives in a small house not far from her parents’ place in Byron, splitting the rent with just one roommate.  Her share comes out to $225 a month.

$225/4 = $56.25, $176 – $56.25 = $119.75

Before moving out, Delta took up her second job at MovieStop to start saving a little cash.  Now the job has become a necessity.  Delta works three six hour shifts at the store every week, 18 hours total.      The hours are boring and long—Delta doesn’t leave the store until at least 11 p.m. every night.  And while selling used DVDs may not be nearly important a job as measuring medication for the sick, the money is just as important to Delta. On top of her rent and living expenses, she also has to worry about her phone and car insurance bills, which totals her right above $130 per month.

$130/4 = $32.5, $119.75 – $32.5 = $87.25

Between her two jobs, Delta works between 38 and 42 hours a week, a typical number of work hours for the average American, but a devastating number for a college student like Delta.  Her determination to make it through college without a single student loan or credit card has left her to slowly chip away at a mountain of college credits.  Delta started this semester with a solid 15 hours of classes; after a few weeks, it became apparent to Delta that she would have to substantially lighten her work load in order to pass any of her classes.  Delta is down to 9 hours of classes now.  At her current rate, Delta won’t graduate until May 2011, a full two years after her initial expected graduation.
Delta spends four to five hours a week studying for her classes, in study sessions she squeezes in any time she can.  And despite her busy schedule, Delta manages to find time to have a little fun.  Delta says she spends about $40 a week on anything from trips to the theater, nice dinners with her boyfriend, or a rare weekend trip out of town.

$87.25 – $40 = $47.25

Fortunately for Delta, both of her jobs seem to be stable.  In the past two years of working at the hospital, she has only been laid off once—and that was only for two weeks. Business at MovieStop has remained strong; MovieStop’s parent company, GameStop, actually exceeded its expected revenue forecasts for the fiscal year.  Delta is one of the fortunate ones who have managed to keep two jobs in a country whose unemployment rate has soared to a nasty 7.6 percent.
It’s 11 p.m. now.  It’s a deep dark—the day’s rainy skies have clouded the stars and the parking lot of the Presidential Parkway shopping center is dimly lit.  Behind the front glass of the store, Delta is shouldering her purse as she patiently waits at the door.  When her two coworkers finally join her, she is the first one out the door, taking quick steps across the asphalt, expertly dodging tire-worn puddles.  Delta has a lot on her mind.
She has promised two of her close friends that she would be a bridesmaid in both of their weddings.  She has about six weeks to come up with $300 total for both of the dresses.  Last week, her 1995 Nissan Altima had a near death experience; Delta managed to resuscitate the dying car, but she still owes $375 to pay for the busted radiator.

$0.00

The 15 minute drive home feels a lot longer for Delta.  A bad car accident from 2006 makes her anxious on the wet roads, and she drives a little slower than usual.  This stretch of the interstate is dead at this time of the night, and there’s nothing to the scenery that catches the eye, save for maybe the old Sara Lee distribution center halfway between Macon and Byron.
Delta takes a break from humming to the radio to yawn.  When she gets home, she’ll take care of her cat, change into her pajamas, and go right to bed.  At 6:30, the alarm will ring again.
Of course, Delta isn’t the only over-worked college student.  She isn’t even in the minority.  In 2006, the American Council on Education conducted a study on how part-time and full-time jobs impact students’ education.  Of the students questioned, 78 percent worked while enrolled, and 34.2 percent worked 35 or more hours per week.  Students who didn’t work held an average GPA of 2.97, while students who held jobs fell behind at 2.90.
Employed students are at a disadvantage, and that disadvantage spreads to everyone as the quality of education suffers.