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Resident assistants enjoy perks
of campus life -- and get paid
By Sterling Bo Winn
May 6, 2009 | Kayla Harris has the good life. She
wakes up in the morning, leaves for her class a mere
10 minutes before it starts, eats at the Marketplace,
free of charge, then returns to her apartment on-campus
to prepare treats, paid for by the university, for the
students in her building.
In exchange for a free private room, a monthly stipend
and an optional meal-plan, Harris puts together programs,
learning opportunities, trips and parties throughout
the year for just under 50 residents in Greaves Hall.
While she has other duties to perform as well, Kayla
is being paid to build her community.
"I love the diverse people that [you] get to meet
when you're an RA. You can't [get] that experience anywhere
else on campus," said Harris.
Resident assistants play a crucial role in the lives
of students opting to live on-campus during their years
as students at USU. When residents move in, RAs offer
support and guidance to those feeling lost, lonely or
just needing help finding a class. As well, peer mentors
are available for students in theme- or academic-focus
housing such as pre-med and engineering.
All students who want to be an RA or peer mentor must
apply for the position, participate in group interviews,
be invited to take a six-week training class to determine
ability and are then offered a job or placed an in alternate's
pool should an RA or peer mentor position open sometime
throughout the following academic year.
Some RAs and peer mentors can go one step further
in working for Housing and become a residence director.
RDs oversee and offer support to RAs in the different
housing areas across campus and help resolve extreme
resident problems. RDs at Utah State are unique in that
they're almost always graduates of the university, or
"home-grown" as Chris Cloud, RD in MASA, says.
RAs and RDs all have different reasons for choosing
to work for housing initially, but most choose to continue
working for housing because they love molding a community
out of students who typically do not know each other
before moving into on-campus housing. "I thought the
free housing would be the only cool thing about this
job, but now I've been able to see how I can either
make or break a student's experience while living here.
You get to watch people really grow and become their
own person. Sometimes you really have a part in that
growth. You can't beat that," said second-year RA Jon
Adams.
Ashlee Howard was an RA for three years and has been
an RD since fall 2007. "We never just leave students
hanging. They need to be willing to accept help, but
we're here for them. The community that we can build
here is great. It's a really social place, and students
are lucky because they never need to bring anything
or pay for the activities and programs we do. Really,
being part of staff is one of the best experiences you
can have."
RAs, peer mentors, and RDs are trained to provide
support to their residents by offering information about
on-campus resources, resolving roommate conflicts, listening
to residents who may feel alone and ensuring that residents
are provided with a safe, productive learning and living
environment. Many RAs even find life-long friends among
their residents.
"I'm rooming with my RA again. Somehow we became really
good friends over the year. We've laughed together,
cried together and even made a music video together.
I only think of her as my RA now when she tells me to
turn down my music because it's past quiet hours," said
freshman Nicole Kerkman.
Working for Residence Life isn't for everyone, though.
According to Ashlee Howard, "To be an effective
RA or peer mentor, you definitely have to be outgoing
or at least be assertive enough to learn to be. We have
a lot of people who are shy, and want to be an RA because
they want to be more outgoing, which is good, but if
they don't have the right social skills then their community
will suffer for it."
To be an RA, a student must start applying at the
end of fall semester. For more information on becoming
an RA or to find out whom to contact, visit http://housing.usu.edu.
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