Resident Adviser, 2nd Floor Turner Hall
This is the job that I worked so hard to achieve. After a grueling selection process and an equally grueling month long training session, I was officially an RA.
Like any job, it took me a while to get accustomed to. Also like any job, it has it's "ups" and "downs." At the beginning of the year, I tried very hard to form a safe and welcoming community for the residents of Turner Hall floor 2. I put on programs, worked with roommates to layout guidelines, and decorated the hall. The job entailed a lot, but I was prepared for a lot.
An RA has to balance the role of a leader, an authority figure, and a friend. I felt that I did balance this quite well. I started getting to know more and more people in the hall. I had successful educational and community programs. I got to know all of my residents by name and a some of their personal interests. I wanted them to feel comfortable talking to me if an issue came up. Fortunately for me, putting in all of this work helped down the road.
I now felt comfortable with the job, and I felt that I was doing a pretty good job of being an understanding leader. I tried to lead by example and inspire and guide some of the freshman who seemed like they needed it. The first few weeks, I brought my floor to the dining hall to get them to know each other. I put on a program that introduced some of UC's many resources. I had Honors advisers come in to talk about the program. Things were going as planned, there were of course the normal noise complaints, locked out students, and alcohol incidences, and some drug cases, but nothing major.
I had gotten to know the student next door to me pretty well. He and his girlfriend were big party-goers however, so it was not unusual for him to come back very intoxiacted after a night out. One night was particularly bad though. I was in my room and I hear the cops walk by in the hall. Turns out this student was heavily intoxicated this night and had attempted to cut himself, but his girlfriend had called the police. I let the police do what they had to do in that situation, but later that night after this student had sobered up, I talked to him. We talked for a good while, and I found out that since his father was a doctor, this student had been trying to impress his father by taking a full courseload of tough courses. His pent up frustration and feeling of inadequacy led to his drinking as an escape. As an RA, I had to make sure he got on the course to healing. I told him that he shouldn't base the rest of his life by trying to impress his father. He had to choose what he would be happy with. The next day I walked him over to the counseling center and we got him some professional help. This student ended up choosing construction management as his major, and is succeeding in these courses and couldn't be happier. He thanked me at the end of the year, and I felt wonderful knowing that I helped this student overcome a major struggle.
There were a few other instances like this, but I remember this one the best because it was the first major incidence in which I made a very concrete difference in someone's life.
The job kept you busy. Running a hall 24/7 is not easy work, but none of it would have been possible without the amazing teamwork the other RAs and our RC, Jason, put in. If any person failed to do rounds for a night, another RA had to be called to fill those. If an RA didn't show up to their desk shift or couldn't fill a time for hall openings or closings, the other RAs had to fill in. This job taught me how important a team is.
It was a stressful first year, but I enjoyed seeing the naive freshman from the beginning of the year transform into mature interconnected sophomores.
Like any job, it took me a while to get accustomed to. Also like any job, it has it's "ups" and "downs." At the beginning of the year, I tried very hard to form a safe and welcoming community for the residents of Turner Hall floor 2. I put on programs, worked with roommates to layout guidelines, and decorated the hall. The job entailed a lot, but I was prepared for a lot.
An RA has to balance the role of a leader, an authority figure, and a friend. I felt that I did balance this quite well. I started getting to know more and more people in the hall. I had successful educational and community programs. I got to know all of my residents by name and a some of their personal interests. I wanted them to feel comfortable talking to me if an issue came up. Fortunately for me, putting in all of this work helped down the road.
I now felt comfortable with the job, and I felt that I was doing a pretty good job of being an understanding leader. I tried to lead by example and inspire and guide some of the freshman who seemed like they needed it. The first few weeks, I brought my floor to the dining hall to get them to know each other. I put on a program that introduced some of UC's many resources. I had Honors advisers come in to talk about the program. Things were going as planned, there were of course the normal noise complaints, locked out students, and alcohol incidences, and some drug cases, but nothing major.
I had gotten to know the student next door to me pretty well. He and his girlfriend were big party-goers however, so it was not unusual for him to come back very intoxiacted after a night out. One night was particularly bad though. I was in my room and I hear the cops walk by in the hall. Turns out this student was heavily intoxicated this night and had attempted to cut himself, but his girlfriend had called the police. I let the police do what they had to do in that situation, but later that night after this student had sobered up, I talked to him. We talked for a good while, and I found out that since his father was a doctor, this student had been trying to impress his father by taking a full courseload of tough courses. His pent up frustration and feeling of inadequacy led to his drinking as an escape. As an RA, I had to make sure he got on the course to healing. I told him that he shouldn't base the rest of his life by trying to impress his father. He had to choose what he would be happy with. The next day I walked him over to the counseling center and we got him some professional help. This student ended up choosing construction management as his major, and is succeeding in these courses and couldn't be happier. He thanked me at the end of the year, and I felt wonderful knowing that I helped this student overcome a major struggle.
There were a few other instances like this, but I remember this one the best because it was the first major incidence in which I made a very concrete difference in someone's life.
The job kept you busy. Running a hall 24/7 is not easy work, but none of it would have been possible without the amazing teamwork the other RAs and our RC, Jason, put in. If any person failed to do rounds for a night, another RA had to be called to fill those. If an RA didn't show up to their desk shift or couldn't fill a time for hall openings or closings, the other RAs had to fill in. This job taught me how important a team is.
It was a stressful first year, but I enjoyed seeing the naive freshman from the beginning of the year transform into mature interconnected sophomores.
Some Programs I put on during the Year
Here is an incomplete list of some of the programs I planned, coordinated, and led during my first year as an RA.
- Honors Meet and Greet -> Honors advisers came in and answered questions about the program and portfolios.
- LeaderShape program -> Myself and a few fellow LeaderShape members shared our experiences and encouraged residents to sign up.
- Alcohol Jeopardy -> Student ambassadors from the Student Wellness Center came in and played a game of Jeopardy with students about alcohol safety, BMI information, and party safety questions. They also brought "beer goggles" and allowed students to realize what visual impairment comes with excessive drinking.
- Super Smash Bros Tournament -> a two part series tournament on this very popular four person video game. Attendance was upwards of fifty contestants and we had five consoles and TVs running with a bracket.
- Field Trip to Cincinnati Observatory -> I arranged rides and reserved the historic Cincinnati Observatory on a Friday evening. Residents learned about astronomy, history, and were able to view planets and stars through the oldest in-use telescopes in the world.
- Spring Concert Gathering -> University of Cincinnati's Programs and Activities Council put on a T-Payne concert. I gathered residents and we went to the concert together and had late-night dinner afterwards.
- Grow a Plant indoors -> I ordered mint plants from a local nursery and taught residents about indoor plant care and the mood-boosting effects of mint and plants in general.
Paperwork
As an RA, one thing that we had to do was paperwork. We had room condition reports, roommate and suitemate agreements, incident reports, program fliers, program evaluations, and program planning among other things. I had to work extra hard to stay organized with all of this paper work and filing in order to meet and exceed expectations.