Much appreciated, thank you! :D

college IT department undoubtedly has work study

That's actually a rare practice here, at least on my university. Job at uni IT is closer to actual work time-wise and it's mostly for people during their senior year as most science departments are organised so that fifth year (we have ETCS here: 3 years for BS, 2 years for MS) is almost exclusively for doing your thesis. That way students can get some extra work experience while still having ample amount of time to do their projects. While it's a neat solution in general, it also means that it's nearly impossible for an undergrad to 'beat' a senior grad student's resume. For instance, they already have a college degree. ;)

That said, I'll look around. Uni IT wasn't really on my radar for the above reason, but I know that there are various options. As always: ideas, tips and pointers are appreciated, but our respective countries have certain idiosyncrasies that could make them less applicable.