On Sunday nights, when everyone on campus is sleeping in their beds awaiting the trials of the next day, a group of student workers are up washing other people’s laundry. They are the workers behind all the camps and meets that come through Eastern, they do the jobs of at least four other positions of a normal semester, yet, they are the least known.

Conference Assistants are a vital part of the core that keeps Eastern running through the summer but are the least acknowledged.

What is a CA? A CA is a student worker for the summer whose job combines that of a resident assistant, desk assistant, night assistant, dining service worker and washing linen. They monitor the dorms people stay in for summer camps or sport meets, give out information, do check-ins, monitor security for the night while everyone sleeps, swipe meal cards and they clean the linen that the university provides for the people who stay at Eastern during the summer.

However, not many people have ever heard of a CA. The job is over-looked so many times, mainly because around the same time CA jobs are taking applications and interviewing, so are the RA jobs, said Matt Boyer, Conference Coordinator.

“We do hiring and applications at the beginning of the spring semester and have everything completed by spring break,” said Boyer. “So students are not really thinking about the summer and are more focused on spring break. We want to commit to these people before spring break when most students start looking for summer jobs.”

Typically, out of around 80 students that apply for a CA job only about 25 get hired. This year, out of 28 CA’s hired, only six are male. Either there are not many guys interested in doing all the jobs required by a CA or just females out number male applicants, said senior CA Heather Cooper, a senior foreign language major.

Eastern’s campus usually holds about 12,000 people throughout the summer; many of them are high school students here for summer camp or the boy’s and girl’s track meets. So many CA’s are also asked to be recruiters for Eastern, said Michelle Hopper, guest services coordinator.

Many Eastern students have come here before during the summer while still in high school, said Hopper. They come with their summer camp and end up falling in love with the campus. As CA’s, part of their job is to help get students to want to come back to Eastern.

A typical work month for a CA usually consists of a minimum of 80 hours, said Doug Howell, assistant conference coordinator. Most CA’s will get between 90 to 100 hours considering there is a university maximum of 120 hours. However, during the boy’s and girl’s track meets, a CA will work anywhere from 28 to 38 hours in four days.

Track meets are the busiest time of the summer for the entire Conference Service department. Most people, including CA’s, will work between 10 to 15 hours a day. CA’s are no strangers to sleepless nights. They are on-call and have been known to have shifts that end at 1 a.m. and pick up again at 7 a.m. Even Boyer admits to it being somewhat overwhelming.

“The number of hours is overwhelming but it is also exciting,” said Boyer. “It’s one of the first things we are able to do during the summer.”

CA’s start training for the summer the Tuesday after spring semester classes end, train for three days before each track meet and then leave for the summer after the last camp leaves right after the first weekend in August. It is literally a full summer job.

Being a CA sounds like a lot of work. They work intensely all summer in a thankless job and no one even bothers to acknowledge them. So why do many CA’s end up coming back? Most say it is because the staff they work with is so great it becomes almost like a second family.

Cooper, a second year CA, said she originally applied for the CA position because she did not want to go home for the summer.

“I had a great time last summer,” said Cooper. “We had a good staff and I really like the building. I had such a good time last summer I figured another summer would be just as good.”

Because of the intense work hours, a lot of CA’s spend a lot of time together. So much that some end up becoming friends and hanging out together on their down time.

“The CA’s did a lot of stuff together,” said Cooper. “Five people on staff turned 21 last year; you can imagine what we did. We became friends during the summer and still kept in touch during the school year.”

Stacey Dorko, senior elementary education major, is in her third year of being a CA. Dorko said the thing that keeps her coming back as a CA is the groups that come in year after year.

“It’s always fun when groups come back and the chaperone remembers you and remembers what you did the previous year,” said Dorko. “Even when the campers come back and remember what you did last summer means I did something right then. Having them remember you is a good feeling inside.”

Both Cooper and Dorko agree that the desk is their favorite position because it is like an information station so you get to actually talk and communicate with the people staying at Eastern. They also agreed that their least favorite job is security, the equivalent to a night assistant job. They both said it is hard to keep awake from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. all by themselves.

What many people do not know is that only half the CA’s during a normal summer staff will take summer school classes, and only then in the six or eight week session. However, it is not that overwhelming said Dorko.

“It’s not that big a hassle as long as you have good time-management skills,” said Dorko. “The staff is pretty good at making sure you are not scheduled during your class.”

As for some last piece of advice for her fellow first time CA’s, Cooper had some words of encouragement.

“I know it is a little rough right now, but it will get better. I promise.”