For most Butler students, classes and extracurricular
activities are enough to stay busy on campus.
Adding one job to that combination might
lead a student to count down the days to Christmas.
Adding another job to the equation is downright
inconceivable.
But that’s exactly what graduate student Rosie
Edwards does. She takes classes, runs cross country—
and works two jobs on top of it.
Edwards, a member of the women’s cross country
team since 2009, is a native of Mytholmroyd—
a small country village located in West Yorkshire,
England, about 200 miles northwest of London.
She received her undergraduate degree at Sheffield
Hallam University in South Yorkshire, running
cross country there as well.
Edwards said she began running cross country
at about the age of 12 as fitness training for soccer.
Over time, however, she really began to enjoy
running in its own regard and decided to enlist in
a running club at age 14.
By age 15, Edwards was running competitively.
Her results attracted the attention of the Butler
cross country program, as she won the Home
Countries International meet in Edinburgh in
2008 and placed 18th at Great Britain’s World
Cross Country Trials that same year.
Consequently, Butler offered Edwards a track
and cross country scholarship, which she said she
viewed as “an amazing opportunity.”
Edwards wasted little time in making her presence
felt here in the United States, finishing ninth
at last year’s Horizon League Championships and
23rd at the Indiana Intercollegiate Meet last September.
For her efforts, Edwards was named second
team all-Horizon League.
Edwards said she found adjusting to the team
easy and happily embraced the team aspect of
competition, which was new to her initially.
“My teammates and coaches all made it really
easy to fit in,” she said. “I just felt like everybody
made a real effort to get to know me.
“I really like the team atmosphere we have here
at Butler because that was something I never really
got at home running for a small club and having
few runners at [Sheffield] University.”
Aside from meets, cross country training occupies
a significant portion of Edwards’ week. The
team trains every morning and works out twice a
day on Tuesdays and Fridays.
As a graduate student, this is not too invasive
because Edwards does not have class until, at the
earliest, 4:30.
Unlike most of her fellow Bulldog athletes, Edwards
does not simply balance athletics with academics:
she also works two jobs, one of which is
on campus at the C-Club deli.
Edwards works at C-Club Wednesdays from 10
a.m.-3 p.m., as well as some weekends. She applied
for a job at C-Club last semester to make
some extra money, she said.
Despite being a member of the cross country
team and a graduate student, she said she had “a
lot of spare time,” enabling her to fulfill the job’s
time requirements.
A multitude of Butler students frequent C-Club
on a daily basis, but the vast majority of students
have little idea what it is actually like being a CClub
employee.
Some might guess that working there would be
intimidating, while others might think that working
at C-Club would be unrewarding, as it would
be a time-consuming activity dedicated almost
exclusively to serving other students.
But Edwards asserted she does not feel this
way about her job, which she enjoys for a variety
of reasons.
“[My job is] pretty easygoing,” she said. “[My
fellow employees and I] work hard but I really
like the group of people I work with.
“They are really friendly and we have a lot of
fun at the same time.”
From time to time, C-Club has been ridiculed
around campus for providing more unhealthy
options than other campus dining locations like
the Market Place at Atherton and ResCo’s Dining
Room.
Edwards, however, disagrees with this assessment.
“I think the services C-Club provides are pretty
good,” she said. “I like that there are lots of
healthy options for students and staff, and I think
there is a lot of variety offered.
“I was also pleasantly surprised with the conditions
there. It is very hygenic and well-kept.”
Although she finds her job enjoyable overall,
Edwards said there is one thing that particularly
bothers her.
“It upsets me how some of the customers speak
to some of the members of staff,” she said. “I’d
like to see them have more respect for the employees
because they are great people and work very
hard.”
Alan Solomon, a C-Club supervisor, described
Edwards as a dependable, hard worker.
“She’s friendly, she’s nice and she’s respectful
to the customers from what I’ve seen,” Solomon
said. “When I worked on shifts with her last year,
she would ask me, ‘Is there anything else I can
do?’ And I would answer, ‘Yes, you can take a
15-minute break.’”
Edwards, who is focusing on special education,
also works Mondays and Tuesdays at the
Independence Academy of Indiana, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to providing instruction
for autistic students.
She was required to volunteer as a component
of her behavior management class last semester
but enjoyed it so much that she elected to continue
working at the academy this semester.
So how does one balance the tremendous workload
of two jobs, cross country and academics?
Edwards said keeping organized is the primary
ingredient.
“I think as a grad [student] I definitely have a
lighter workload than the undergrads, so I have a
decent amount of spare time,” she said. “I think
organization is the key though: just staying ahead
of class and knowing when work is due.
“My classes are never before 4:30, so I have the
mornings designated for training, and I can do
work before classes and early afternoons.”
After she graduates, Edwards said she intends
to remain in the U.S. and find a job in special education
while continuing to run longer events, such
as half marathons and marathons.
“I would like to stay in the States if possible,
but I don’t know for how long yet,” she said. “It
just depends on where the road takes me.”