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
A position as a Courtyards RA would be a very fulfilling title to hold. I am always striving to be an incredibly active member in my community. However, it is hard for me to reach my full potential in doing so at the apartment I am currently living in. Being an RA would give me an opportunity to build relationships with the people around me while further developing my leadership and collaboration skills. The teamwork aspect of being an RA is also very attractive to me, knowing that I can confide in other RA’s or my supervisor if I need help and I can also be a reliable RA to them. I want to be the biggest help that I can be to my residents, so I will be both responsive and responsible in tending to their concerns. The benefits of being an RA
People are valued based on many different things; some of these include race, gender, sexuality, religion and more. But we still think that some people are valued more than others. In this essay we will explain to you our outlook on why we think some people are valued more than others.
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.
I believe a good leader is able to draw distinct clear lines when dealing with the people under her responsibility. I feel a good leader is approachable and yet still manages to maintain an authoritative stance. Often leaders tend to cross the line and become too friendly with the people they lead in a bid to gain popularity. However, from my work experience, when the leader tries to switch hats to being an authoritative figure it backfires. Which ultimately results in confusion amongst the group due to mixed signals and followers losing respect for the leader.
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
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.
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
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
There are a lot of people out there in leadership positions, but not many that really exemplify the true qualities of a leader. While conducting this interview I asked L.A. what she thought the true qualities of a leader was and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had very high standards when it comes to her idea of leadership characteristics. The first two things she touched on where people skills and patient care because she believes those go hand in hand. Without the skills to communicate effectively with the patients there is no point in caring for them at all. Another huge quality for L.A. is she believes in straight forward honesty, and integrity. If you are straight forward from the beginning with staff whether the news good or bad then they will learn to trust you and they know they can count on what you say, being the nice guy all the time and sugar coating everything you are
As a student leader we face many different challenges. One particular challenge is that challenge that I heard over and over in returning Resident Assistant interviews this past week, creating the line between professionalism and friendship. The question always comes back to, how can I hold my friends/residents accountable and not be the police all at the same time. Some will trip over this line, while others tiptoe down the tightrope and may put one foot on either side of the line and step on the side that they need to at the right time.
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.
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.
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.
An RA works to create that positive community by being selfless, available, committed and compassionate about their responsibility. Being an RA is not easy and I understand that I will be tested. An RA would be required to devote more time to my residents. Being an RA, i would have to mediate conflict between roommates or floor-mates, and also I would have to work to make sure no one is being deprived of anything such as a peaceful study or sleeping environment. I know sometimes my duty would require me to step up deal with students whom might not be compiling with either the school, housing or floor rules.