We just completed my second year of summer training as a resident assistant, and cannot put into words how absolutely exhausted we really are. But more than that, we are so excited to meet our new residents this fall. With our hall doors decorated and every resident's name tag hung by their door, we can't help but be excited for the New Year. A new semester means new memories and fresh faces.

Many people have no idea of what all goes into being an RA and all the training we must endure. We just completed seven days of nonstop training sessions, all centered around our residents, who have no idea how much work it takes to open their hall to mere perfection. We listened to our hall directors explain policies, answer questions, and clarify what we must do in order to put our residents first in any and every situation one can possibly imagine.

Flash flood? No worries... We have a plan for that.

Tornado? We can tell you the shelter in place to take cover from any point on campus.

Drunk roommate? We know how to diffuse this situation with ease.

Active shooter on campus? We have been through training with university police and literally had to run for our lives as a campus policeman shot a BB gun around the room to ensure we could handle to proper protocol.

Have any questions? We can probably answer them, and if we don't know, we can find out the answer in a heartbeat.

This training is as extensive as discussing how to help a victim who has been sexually assaulted. While we hope to never ever have to use this training, we are prepared to do so. We are CPR certified and know how to properly dispose of any bodily fluid. (ew, gross). We inspect your hall weekly, making sure your restroom is clean and your hall is safe. If we see any damages, or something that needs maintenance, we report the problem to be fixed for you. We take temperatures of your hall and showers to make sure they are at a comfortable and reasonable temperature for everyone.

We can multi-task between our course, internships, social life and work duties. (Most of the time.)

We have weekly staff meetings to your needs and wants as building community. We plan fun programs specifically for you. We shop, decorate, make lists, cook, bake, create posters, and plan down to the very last detail so that you can have a place to escape from classes and the stress of life, all while we are trying to maintain a GPA requirement,

We can't wait to meet you and learn all about how your classes are going and if we can in anyway help you enjoy college life.

We move in two weeks before classes begin, and we move out a few days after every goes home for the summer. We sacrifice our breaks to return to school early to ensure your hall is open by the time you get here.

Resident assistants are first responders.

We are students.

We are listeners.

We are comforters.

We are a familiar face.

We are a shoulder to lean on.

But most of all, we are and forever will be here for you.