What is an issue facing your current residential community or the larger Denison community? As a Resident Assistant, how will you work to address this issue? *
Being a RA is not only about creating a community for the residents and ensure that they always feel that they are welcome in the building, but also, another important aspect of the position is about confronting negative behaviors, which I feel that sometimes hasn’t been fully addressed in some of the residential building, such as a violation of quiet hours or underage drinking with an open containers. When it comes to such behaviors, it is likely that if the RA doesn’t do anything, the person will repeat that negative behaviors next time and that might affect other residents. Confronting
…show more content…
How will you negotiate these challenges personally as well as within your community?
There can be many challenges that a RA can face, as this is a real job with the same expectations of any positions out there on campus. However, in my opinion, I think that there are two most important issue that I can face in the RA position. The first one is being a role model. A RA can’t not punch out the timecard and leave the office. Rather, the RA is on duty all the time. In order to establish a mutually respect environment in the residence hall, the RA has to obey the rule him/herself. The RA needs to be a role model, in order to gain respect from the residents. For example, the RA can’t break the quiet hours rule today and the next day come to a residents asking the person to turn down his volume because it is already the quiet hours - That’s not fair. Therefore, being a leader and a role model is very important. I would have to practice my time management skills and other customer services skills such as being patient or being accurate all the time because one mistake can ruin the relationship between the RA and the
…show more content…
I am honored to be their first resource and a big sister figure or a role model. I would be glad to help people in transition to college life (or to a new dorm), to help them build new friendships and to watch them grow and success with their academic career. I realize that my actions can really impact or make a difference on another person’s life. They might be in a challenging phase of their life, or experiencing difficult emotional feelings, and I will always be there to help. I would enjoy the role of a listener, a role model an advisor, event coordinator, conflict solver, a mentor, and a peer. I’m also a very artistic and passionate person, so I always feel encouraged to host interesting programs that my residents would enjoy and make beautiful bulletin board as a way to welcome my residents back after a long and stressful day at
|responsibility to work with residents in their communities and advocated with them for resources. Many times leaders are present in the |
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.
Residential Advisors—People who work in residential communities can provide services to residents. They need to keep and organize the house records and assign house. They need to provide basic service to residents like maintenance, organize activities, provide repairs and furnishing. Residential advisors can help residents to involve in the community quickly. I found that residential advisors are very busy, they need to do lots of things every day. To be a good RA, you must have Oral presentation ability, organization talent and communication talent.
The Resident Assistant position is one of authority, accountability, and responsibility. An RA should maintain a sense of safety and security by enforcing the rules of Du Lac in her dorm community. She should also be a role model in following these rules herself. An RA, however, is more than merely a disciplinarian. She should also foster community within the women living in her hallway and in the residence hall as a whole.
Resident Assistants at Marist College are extremely important, as they act as role models, mentors, representations of the college itself, and ultimately friends to their residents. They aid in the adjustment of students to their new dorm and provide advice to their peers in all aspects of college life including but not limited to social and academic acclimation. Resident Assistants have numerous tasks to perform daily and much responsibility; the most important being to make sure that all residents are safe and happy. Through RA programs, meetings and nightly rounds, a sense of community is initiated and fostered throughout the year. Being a RA requires complete commitment of time and energy because it sometimes calls for late nights, sparks
I want to serve as a Resident Assistant because I value the importance of making a difference in the Saint Mary’s community, as well as serving as a peer leader who builds community and serves as a voice for their residence. Building an inclusive and cohesive community is very important. I want to ensure that the college living experience is a positive one and serve as a positive role model, just as my resident assistant has. Building healthy relationships with your residence, hall director, and fellow residence staff is very important. It is important to show others that you are approachable and a person who can deal and trust with during diverse situations. I will exemplify the Lasallian Core Traditions, by demonstrating a sense of belongingness
The residents that take time to talk to them while they are on duty see the RAs not only as people doing a job but as individuals as well. Of course the RAs are there to help them succeed and want the best for them, but this opportunity for interaction and conversation means that residents can develop a deeper relationship with them. It can also help to dispel the assumption that they want them to get in trouble. After all, they may be a form of authority, but they don’t ever want to write someone up for an incident. That’s the last thing they want to do, but of course when it comes down to it, if they really don’t follow the policies they will do the duty of their job.
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.
Through my time being part of the community in North and South Hedges I have learned how to take control of conduct and build rapport through following up with residents. I have also experienced many crisis situations. Both in dealing with the aftermath of a fight in my first week of being an RA, and managing a suicide attempt by one of my residents. Because of these experiences, and prior knowledge, I am ready to step into a larger role concerning conduct situations and student wellness.
The first reason I want to be a Residential Leader is because I feel like students will need someone to talk to several times while at school and an RL is the perfect person to go to. Students don’t want to go to their parents most of the time because they’re afraid they will disappoint them and they will not look at them the same after they’ve done something they regret. Students also don’t want to go to the counselor on campus because they feel like most of the stuff they need to talk about isn’t that serious, they just need to get it out to someone they can trust. Students trust their RL because they’re chosen to keep watch on their hall, they’re there to protect them when need be and to be a mentor for everyone. RL’s need good listening ears and the ability to take situations and diffuse them and I feel like I have that ability. In high school all my friends came to me for advice and most
I am interested in becoming a Resident Advisor because I enjoy working with other people. I am also creative and love doing projects and planning events. My first semester in college has showed me how important it is to have someone such as an R.A. to look up to. I enjoy being other people’s support system and encouraging others to do their best. I also feel it is imperative to have an R.A. that is able to bring students together because college is a stressful time, but knowing
One of the first things I asked Vasu about was what types of challenges he had faced and what his least favorite part of the job was. He was very honest with me and said that his least favorite part was definitely going on rounds and writing people up. I asked him more about that and we discussed the challenges an RA faces when expected to be a friend while remaining an authority figure. He is an RA for an all-male floor and he said, “once you’re a bro you don’t want to be a principle or a killjoy.” I thought that was really funny and we laughed about it but I think there is a lot of truth in that statement. Nobody wants to be stuck between friend and disciplinary figure.
My personal story with dealing with the notion of the Resident Advisor (RA) position varies a little from most MSU RA’s. I am an international transfer student from Honduras, and this factors affected my perception and expectations for the RA position. However, the biggest factor that conceived an idea for me of what the RA position was about in Mississippi State University (MSU), was the fact that I was previously already an RA (Resident Advisor, different acronym but pretty much the same job) at the community college I transferred from, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC). My experience began when I first moved in to my MGCCC dorm. Some problems with my housing application occurred and I ended up not being able to room with my friend from
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
They are both vital in creating a feeling of community and comfort within the residence halls. Connecting with residents is difficult because an RA has to find a happy medium somewhere between an authority figure and a friend. Availability and communication are important parts to this distinction because the more time residents can spend around and with you, the more they get to know you as a person and the more they understand your duties as an RA. For me personally, I think these responsibilities will fall mostly within my normal day-to-day life. Within the dorms I like to keep my door propped open, which I think would make me much more approachable to residents walking by. I also like to make sure I acknowledge everyone I see around campus, and this would be especially true with the residents in my hall. It always brightens my day a bit whenever someone takes the time out of their day to just say “hello,” and I think that’s true for a lot of