From the Ritz-Carlton to the Holiday Inn, any arriving person can be assured of seeing a helpful ready-to-assist employee behind the front desk no matter the time of night.

However, this is not limited to just the adult world, as one can find anywhere a student working behind the desk at their respective residence halls from midnight to 3 a.m.

"It was sometime recent when we decided to go with the 3 a.m. shift," Heather Miller, Associate Director of Housing and Residence Life, said. "This past January we went to 12-3 every day. Before that, we only did that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday since they were the most active nights."

Naturally, some students have enough on their plate during the week with regards to classes or meetings for different on-campus organizations. Others simply do their job by being a sort of watchman for their neighbors at night.

"Obviously, the time is late and sometimes it can be hard to stay motivated and awake through it," freshman Milton Daniel desk assistant Tiffany Huff said in an email. "Also, due to the nature of the hour, you sometimes have to deal with some people and situations that aren't always pleasant, but I find that this usually doesn't happen too often."

A general consensus of those interviewed was that handling the last shift meant more money and also a chance to branch out around the dorm.

“Some of the positive aspects of that shift is you get to experience memorable times,” said sophomore Samuelson desk assistant Kee-Kee Jackson in an email. “Overall, it’s nice to see some of the residents you usually wouldn’t have seen during the day.”

Most importantly, the late night employees provide a highly underrated security blanket on their fellow dorm inhabitants when they come in late at night.

"It's always a good thing when you have that extra presence in the hall; it can't hurt anything," said Miller. "I just feel when you have students coming in late, seeing a familiar face welcoming them home only adds good things to the community."

Freshman Clark Hall desk assistant Nate Anderson not only reinforced Miller's idea, but also sought to make the most of his time on duty last semester.

"The negative aspects of the job are pretty straightforward–nobody wants to sit at a desk on a Friday or Saturday night," he said. "I suppose it caused me to do some studying on weekend nights for the first time ever, though."

Others, such as sophomore Dani Pinedo, a resident of Wright Hall, admitted it does force you to study, but at times can be really distracting and sometimes you simply need to go to bed.

"It can be really fun since you get to meet a lot of people," Pinedo said. "It's kind of a bummer on weekends because you want to be having fun, and hardest on weekdays because you already get such little sleep then, especially with 8 a.m. classes the next day."

Miller's observations at previous colleges she had worked at provided a solid premise of how her current employer should run theirs as well.

"One school was very different because they didn't have front desks in the lobbies," Miller said. "The school I was at prior to TCU did have front desk assistants, but some [colleges] out there have 24-hour systems."

In a nutshell, those on desk duty can still remain college students while on their job. As independent young adults, they can either be studious, social, or sleepy, and when all is said and done TCU has for now found its niche in choosing the most compatible structure possible.

"I think the way we have it right now suits us just fine," Miller said.