RAs often times get a really bad reputation. Word's such as "kill-joy" or "ball-buster" are among a plethora of other words used to describe the stereotypical college campus RA. Then there's me.
I so often seek to break the molds and expectations that people set forth upon me because I love seeing people do the same when it comes to my own misguided stereotypes and misconceptions. When I landed this gig I was certain that it was only because of the money and that I would have to put up with snotty freshmen and drunk athletes roaming around the halls. It turns out, I was only partly wrong!
To stop beating around the bush, I will get straight into it. Becoming a Resident Advisor made my experience one of the best, if not THE best, times I have ever had in college. These freshman residents are some of the most genuine, loving, non-judgmental people I have met and there's plenty of reasons for that. Just as I was my first year, I was terrified. I was small fish in a large pond (as large as a pond as Saint Martin's University can get). I realized that I could use my RA superpowers for good and not evil. Instead of scaring the first years to not do this, or not do that, I mentored and guided them so that their transition into college could be smooth and fun at the same time.
Most importantly, I developed a family, Turtle Time. As a first year there's a lot of opportunities to meet others, but when it comes to your floor, you should be able to feel like you are at home. You may have all sorts of different friends scattered throughout school but being able to come back to your room and know that your hallway is full of people you can interact and depend on is amazing. I wanted to be able to create a space where my residents could truly feel like they had "a home away from home." Of course, it takes a lot of extra work and requires me to spend a lot more time doing my job as RA but to have at least one person say I was able to take a burden away from them makes it all worth it.
So how do you do it? The two most important factors in building a strong community is your first floor meeting and having a catchy name. Instead of standing there laying the ground rules you have to make laugh and feel welcome. Obviously, you still lay the ground rules, but do it in an exciting way so that everyone stays engaged. Creating a name gives them the chance to have a sense of pride in their floor and helps them feel a little bit more special. Also allow them to be able to participate in the floor meeting as well, open it up to suggestions on what they want their community to be like and make a community contract. This first contact with your residents will set the tone for the rest of the year. After this you go with the flow, continuously interact with the floor so that they know you're available and most importantly be genuine. Most people are keen on seeing who is being genuine and who is just trying to impress their supervisors.
Why did I write this? Other than bragging rights (just kidding) I wanted to share this little glimpse of my story so others who are RAs or maybe even those applying will hopefully be inspired to create more communities like this on their campus. Family style living is the best way to go! Also, I purposely made the instructions vague giving me more reasons to write upcoming articles so stay tuned ;)
