Wegmans Food Markets is scheduled to open its first store in D.C. this summer and is hiring more than 300 part-time workers ahead of its opening.
Located at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Rodman Street, between the Tenleytown and McLean Gardens neighborhoods, the supermarket is an under 20-minute walk or bus ride from American University’s campus.
In an emailed statement on behalf of the Wisconsin Avenue store manager, Wegmans’ Public Relations Specialist Marcie Rivera said no previous experience is necessary to be considered for employment.
“We hire employees who demonstrate our company values, including respect, empowerment, and high standards. If the candidate has the right attitude, we can teach them all the other skills to be successful,” Rivera wrote.
The proximity of the Wisconsin Avenue Wegmans to campus makes it an option for students seeking off-campus employment without a long commute.
Rivera detailed employment benefits that may apply to student workers in an emailed statement to The Eagle. Part-time recipients of the Wegmans employee scholarship program receive up to $8,000 over four years and “no restrictions are made on a student’s course of study or preferred school, college, or university.”
Other part-time student job opportunities can be found in Tenleytown. Target, Chipotle and Cava are among the local businesses currently accepting part-time job applications.
Existing major grocery stores in the area, such as the Tenleytown Whole Foods, the Wisconsin Avenue Giant and the Glover Park Trader Joe’s are also hiring hourly positions. Applications for these positions, which generally start at the District’s minimum wage of $15.50, can be submitted online at the stores’ respective websites.
Annalyn St. Ledger, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences, has worked part-time at Chef Geoff’s since March 2021. St. Ledger said the lack of a commute was a factor in their decision to apply to the restaurant.
“Public transportation around this area can be pretty bad,” they said.
St. Ledger noted that when they were looking for work in the spring of last year, campus services were not fully operational and the University’s shuttle bus was not running regularly.
“How I would have even been able to consistently get to any other area, I’m not even sure,” they said.
Another option for work close to campus is babysitting or nannying for families in the residential American University Park neighborhoods.
Freshman in the School of Public Affairs Lucie Abenante found her babysitting job using QuadJobs, a service meant specifically for college students whose schedules might conflict with more traditional hourly work. Although QuadJobs connects students with jobs ranging from dog walking to tutoring, Abenante mainly saw listings for babysitters.
Abenante balances working off-campus by babysitting around her class schedule.
“I babysat for them on different days of the week from 3:30 to 5:20 [p.m.], which was really easy,” Abenante said. “I have all my classes done in the middle of the afternoon … and it’s only two hours out of the evening so I have plenty of time for homework.”
