I met with Haven outside of Deviney, the building where she currently works as an RA. Between the beautiful day and Haven’s passion, speaking with her was completely effortless.
Name: Haven Miller
Year: Junior
Major: International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies
Hometown: Bradenton, Florida
Photo By: Annie Grafe
Her Campus (HC): So back when you were my RA you helped me through some rough roommate situations. Do you ever find that part of your job exhausting?
Haven Miller (HM): It’s challenging sometimes, but it’s really rewarding to find some sort of middle ground. It feels nice to make my residents’ lives a little easier.
HC: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
HM: My favorite part of the job is being able to meet people I wouldn’t normally be able to meet – both residents and co-workers. I also like the fact that sometimes I’m able to make an impact on my resident’s lives. I’d say my least favorite part has to be the disciplinary aspect. It’s hard being only a couple years older and having this authoritative power. No RA wants to get people in trouble.
HC: Aside from being a resident’s assistant, what other organizations and activities are you involved with on campus?
HM: I’m involved with Hillel at FSU; I’m currently planning an Israeli Film Festival. It’s going to be a showing of a movie called A Tale of Love and Darkness on March 31 in the phantom theatre at 8 p.m. I’m also involved with the Noles Want Bernie organization on campus.
HC: You’ve previously mentioned how you were actually able to meet Bernie Sanders. Can you tell me about that experience?
HM: I had the opportunity to attend a meet and greet with Bernie Sanders along with a Q&A session while he was in Tampa for his rally. We had secret service screen us before we went inside, which was pretty cool. He went around and shook everyone’s hands introducing himself to everyone in the room. There were about 20 people in there.
HC: How was the rally?
HM: I got to stand behind him and listen to him speak. It was really inspiring hearing him on TV and then hearing him in person and getting to see him. He’s an idol to people. You don’t really see him as a human being, but when you get to meet him he’s just someone trying to make a difference.
HC: You mentioned you’re an International Affairs major, did you always know this was something you were interested in or did it take some time to get there?
HM: I originally was going to be a Political Science and International Affairs major, but I realized I didn’t like political science as much as I thought I did.
HC: Middle Eastern Studies sounds pretty interesting too. What is it about this that you would like to get involved in?
HM: Growing up Jewish, Israel has always been important to me. I went for the first time when I was 16 and I fell in love with the country. I found out about the conflict and it really made me upset and I felt like this was something I wanted to devote my life to learning about.
HC: It’s really great that you’re so passionate about different things. How do you balance everything?
HM: I’m starting this new philosophy where I’m doing things not to only put them on my resume, but because I think they’ll actually make me happy. Showing that you’re passionate about things even if that means limiting how much you’re involved with really what’s important.