Resident Assistant Motivation

As a DC-CAP College Representative I will advocate on campus centered on the relationship I have established with Housing and Residence Life throughout the years. Currently, I am a Resident Advisor (RA) and a member of Residence Hall Association (RHA) both concerning housing. My role as an RA is to foster the community, provide academic support, being attentive to safety and security of the residents, and to serve as an overall counselor to the residents. Also, as an RA I develop programs that educate and encourage residents to build relationships. Furthermore, as a member of RHA my role is to develop residence hall policies, programs, and be the voice for all residence hall students and address the concerns of all the residents.

I had the absolute honor of meeting and interviewing the wonderful Isis Howard, a Residential Advisor in PCV 1. Isis, a 2nd year Environmental Management and Protection major, greeted me with a smile which led me to immediately feel comfortable around her. Isis had several personal motivations for why she chose to become a RA; ranging from personal growth and gaining useful life skills, such as communication, honesty, and leadership, to giving back to the Cal Poly community. One point brought up that resigned with me was that her transition to living on her own had been difficult, but her RAs were there for her every step of the way. Their efforts to create a sense of home in an unfamiliar environment truly motivated her to become a RA. Now that Isis has received the job, she mentions she receives the benefits that she hoped for from the beginning everyday- she continues to develop skills in a wide range of areas that deem valuable for life.

First and foremost, I think that it is most important for a Resident Advisor to be open and able to keep the peace within the resident’s hall. Whether it be dealing with roommate difficulties, confronting inappropriate behavior, or dealing with

1. I’ve known several people who have worked as Conference Housing Assistants, and they’ve all said great things about it. Firstly, reading the job description, I see that interpersonal communication and organization are two of the biggest skills needed for this position of which I pride myself over. I want to be able to tie my qualifications and skills to the school that I attend so that I can assist others as well as represent Stony Brook. I know many former Orientation Leaders, Conference Housing Assistants, and Residential Assistants who have said it’s a rewarding position because you get to assist and meet new people.

My StregnthsQuest stregnths are: Includer, Input, Achiever, Futuristic, Analytical. These strengths make me a good candidate to be a Residential Assistant. Knowing that being inclusive is one of the mission statements of Residential Life at UAlbany,

Since submitting the original application, I have discovered ways to put myself forward in the campus, to understand that some events are helping me to pursue a positive foundation and ways to contribute to UW-Madison. At this moment, I am a part of Residence Life, ensuring a positive atmosphere to the fellow students around me. Within Residence Life, I hold a position in Core Team and Leadership Team in my hall. With my past experiences of role modeling, I felt this position would be great to direct residents to become involved and assure them that opportunities for them are there for

Since, arriving at Rowan University I became at-home with Rowan’s diversity and efforts to make an impact on not only its students, but the local residents living in Glassboro too. Early in the Fall semester, I tried-out for the school’s Rugby and Ultimate Frisbee athletic teams, and ran for the Student Government position of Freshmen class Senator. I was trying to find my niche at Rowan and I found it when I joined the Pre-Med, Medlife and Pre-health society clubs. In addition, I ran for another student government position, Senator At-Large. I was elected into student government on November 7th and since then, I have felt like an active member in Rowan’s community. I first learned that Residential Learning and University Housing was looking for students to fill new Residential Assistants positions in a Senate meeting. Additionally, I’m very keen in becoming a Residential Assistant.

As a resident assistant, I upheld and am continuing to uphold University Housing’s mission of ensuring affordable, comfortable, secure housing on campus while promoting the academic success and personal growth of the residents. From crisis management to programming for the community, my responsibilities varied to be an enforcer of the policies but also to be a friend to all. I built quality relationships with each of my residents to establish an authentic community among the diverse population. Whether it was simply helping

There are a variety of reasons that I am highly interested in becoming a community assistant for Barrett, The Honors College. As a Barrett student I have found that the Barrett community is one that is both inclusive and inspiring. It is my hope that as a community assistant I could help extend and enhance the unique Barrett community in the residence halls. Furthermore, I want to be a valuable resource and mentor for Barrett students. Additionally, I want to be a community assistant because service is something I am passionate about. Serving the Barrett community and its residents is something that I would thoroughly enjoy and excel at. I have gotten a taste of what it means to be a part of and a leader of the Barrett residential community through the Barrett Residential Council. This experience has been incredibly rewarding, and I would like to be able to get more involved with this community by becoming a community assistant. The Barrett community is something that I feel privileged to be a part of. In my opinion the Barrett experience is about connecting with a variety of individuals and learning from a combination of opinions and backgrounds. The Barrett experience is a special one, and one I am thankful

I am applying to be an RA because I enjoy being a role model and a positive influence on others. I have been in positions before in which I was in charge of multiple people around my age, and I really enjoyed those experiences. I believe that an effective RA has strong leadership, communication, disciplinary, and charismatic skills. An RA is in charge of around twenty other students, it is important that they must be their residents’ friend and a big brother/sister to the residents and by having those skills the residents should feel as if the RA is a big brother/sister. In my opinion, the most important skill is communication. If a resident is struggling with a class, a resident is homesick, or just has any personal problems the RA is probably one of the first people they talk to. Communicating to their residents in those times can mean the world to them; just a simple conversation can help improve a person.

In my senior year of high school, I became the student body Vice President and discovered what it means to be an influential leader on campus. This experience exposed me to develop an array of qualities that can be utilized in the role of being resident assistants (RA). I have gained insightful knowledge of the intricate details necessary to be a productive leader who guides in an encouraging and supportive way. A gift that I posses is my ability to organize creative and innovative ways to build camaraderie among the people I serve. This is crucial and beneficial because it ensures for a safe and welcoming environment where everyone feels confident to seek assistance when needed. As a representative of this university and myself, I bring a dedicated intensity about infusing change by vocalizing the wants, needs, and concerns of the students to make my school resilience to an environment conducive to learning.

My interest in a Resident Assistant position comes from my desire to help. I was born with a very strong sense of empathy and if I see that a person is struggling I do all that I can do to alleviate them. Whether it is a person with a learning disability who struggled in class to the “weirdo” in high school who just wanted a friend, I’ve been there for them. Nothing is more painful to me than seeing a person being mistreated, under respected or neglected and I do all I can to protect people from this. My goal is to make every person feel as if they have someone on their side, someone

I had to understand the circumstances in which people were in and how interact with residents respectfully and compassionately which provided opportunities for personal growth by practicing integrity, justice and good stewardship. Though I was a bit hesitant, my experience has been very positive. Just being a volunteer without any related experience or skills, I was unqualified to help and many ways. The few menial tasks that I was able to do seemed to be met with much enthusiasm and appreciation. Simply helping someone to their seat bringing them a cup of tea or

I want to become a Resident Advisor so that I can have the opportunity to be a support system and resource for the students of OU. I am interested in helping residents succeed, while working to build an inclusive community in the Residence Halls. I am a recent transfer student, so I am just beginning to find my place at the University. What I have found here is a support system of people who want to see me succeed and have gone above and beyond to help me in every way imaginable. My goal as a Resident Advisor would be to become a similar resource for residents while developing my leadership skills and creating a positive atmosphere.

I am confident that my creativity, communication, and organization skills will benefit Towson’s residential community. Being creative breaks monotony and can make things interesting for everyone involved. Communications skills are important to have for this position since I will be working with residents and other RAs on a daily basis. Having transferred from two other schools, I have met many people and experienced many different things, which I believe makes me more relatable than just your average person. Being organized and detail-oriented makes working with me simple and reduces stress for everyone. Due to my positive and empathetic personality, I am an easy person to talk to and get along with.