Job security.

Job security has never been an issue for me. Since I was a junior in high school, I have worked as a checker at Park N Shop. It wasn't a glamourous job--and it didn't pay much--but at least I had a steady income coming in. When I went to college, Park N Shop became my fallback job, a place where I could pick up odd hours when I wasn't taking a French class or working at my newspaper internship.

In November, Park N Shop closed its doors for the last time. My mom was not happy that she would now have to travel fifteen minutes to pick up a gallon of milk or a dozen eggs. Many of the co-workers were sad to see the old place close up after 40 years. I was focusing on passing my classes and maintaining my social life; I just shrugged my shoulders when one co-worker sent me the text saying "Park N Shop is gone forever now." I had dreams of summer waitressing or working at Barnes and Noble anyway.

March rolled around, and I had limited prospects for summer jobs. My sister had searched all spring break for work, a search that seemed fruitless. No one was hiring full time workers, let alone part time college kids who would leave by the end of August.

Enter nearly 4,000 Voice surveys. The Voice, a college publication that I write for during the school year, sent out nearly 23,000 surveys to its readers. The Advancement Office ended up with two boxes' worth of surveys, not including the online ones that were submitted. They were in need of someone to sort through all these surveys and input data into the computer.

"All those Voice surveys are job security," one Advancement Office worker said.

And they are right. I may complain about the job sometimes, and occasionally the work does get tedious. But for the most part, I'm just glad to have a job. Many people I know are still jobless this summer, while I get the chance to hang out with my friends and make money.

I have never appreciated job security so much.