One of the most popular jobs for students is Oxy’s student calling program, Telefund, which supports the Oxy Fund. Alexis Chang ’25 shared about her experience working for Telefund, also known as the best-paying job on campus.
What interested you about Telefund?
There were so many opportunities for jobs everywhere on campus. I asked my O-Team leader about jobs, and she told me that Telefund was one of the most popular ones, so I applied. I was interested in Telefund because it involves having conversations with people— I really like to talk and I have a very social personality, so I felt like I fit the description well. I applied to two jobs, which were both super great, but if I wanted to I could have applied to work anywhere. I have friends who work at the library, the Cooler, and more. A lot of the applications are sent out starting in the summer through early September, so the only thing I would say is that you really have to be on top of it. If there’s something that looks appealing to you, you should apply.
At Telefund, it’s really just trying to keep parents and alumni involved—like reminding them about the importance of the Oxy Fund, which supplements the operating budget that supports so many initiatives on campus. It aids pretty much anything, from financial aid to research projects, basically everything that makes Oxy, Oxy!
When I first started I was just doing training calls and getting comfortable, so I had my first real calls in mid-September. One call was with a graduate from the sixties who happened to be a music major just like me. She gave me really good advice about the major, and we were able to really connect based on that shared interest. One of the most important parts of our calls in Telefund is establishing a good rapport with the alumni and parents, so I was happy to get the chance to do that. By the end of our call I had received my first gift, which is what we call our donations.
Working has helped me to procrastinate much less. For example, if I’m working from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. that means that I can’t do homework for three and a half hours. We aren’t able to do our homework while we’re on our shifts, but having that time to hangout with everyone and play games in between our calls gives me the reset I need to feel motivated to do my homework later. Working at Telefund is great for those who like to have conversations with people, especially because your energy shows through the phone. One of our phrases is “Smile While You Dial,” because when you’re smiling and going in with good energy, they can really hear it through the phone. You have to sound excited, it makes or breaks the call. But honestly, it’s such a fun job, everyone I work with is so incredible and nice. It’s one of those jobs where you don’t know what to expect—you can honestly get any kind of call, but I value being able to build my problem solving skills because of that.