Claudia Christensen is a sophomore at Belmont University, and over the summer she was hired to be an RA in Kennedy Hall. She is a part of many clubs on campus, volunteers regularly, and is becoming a master at balancing it all alongside her coursework. She’s definitely an integral part of my life as well; being her ex-roommate and best friend, I thought I would ask her for some insight regarding the work it takes to be partially responsible for freshman all day, every day:
What did you expect heading into your job as an RA? Have those expectations changed?
I think the biggest expectation I had was that building community on my floor would be super easy, and that expectation has definitely changed since my residents here. After living on a floor my freshman year that was full of so many immediately friendly girls, I assumed it would be as natural as it was for my floor last year. I see different suites that stick together, but it’s been pretty challenging thus far to get them to step outside of the suitemate bubbles they’ve established. That’s not to say that I’m not happy they’re socializing with the people they live with because I really am; I just wish they understood that they could be passing up the opportunity to meet some other great girls too. Furthermore, I think I wasn’t expecting it to be such a time commitment, but after these first two full weeks, I have come to learn that the kind of RA I want to be for my residents requires a lot more time than I had anticipated. Trying to find the balance between being an RA, my really difficult course load this semester, and my social life has proven to be quite the hurdle. I know I’ll get there at some point, but for now, I’m just trying to let go of all the expectations I had so I can enjoy my sophomore year.
How did your RA last year influence your approach at leadership?
My RA last year is the reason that I wanted to be an RA this year, so she definitely influenced my approach in a lot of ways. I knew that I wanted to be as dedicated to my relationships with my residents as she was, and I knew that I wanted my staff to be as much of a rock for me as hers was for her. I think after seeing her go through her first year last year, I learned that it was going to be harder than I could imagine to discipline people who I had grown to love over the course of the year. I also learned, though, that it’s something I’m going to have to do, as uncomfortable and nerve wrecking as it might be.
What is something you think residents should know about their RAs?
I think the biggest thing I wish all residents knew about their RAs is that we are not on a mission to get them in trouble. We are here to be a built in friend and a resource for them whenever they need it. I feel like there is such a misconception of RAs being these dictatorial upperclassmen who are out to get their residents. At my first floor meeting, I tried to make it as clear as possible that I did not want to have to write anyone up because it’s not fun to watch someone else get in trouble. All of the RAs I know what their residents to do well and be as happy as possible, so there’s no reason residents should be fearful of us. Also, I wish residents realized we’re students, just like them. It’s easy to forget that RAs also go to class, study, and have friends and relationships because we do spend a good amount of time in the building. Knowing that we’re juggling the same responsibilities as they are is really important, especially when looking at the matter of consideration. Me being me, it’s really easy to let someone sit and talk to me for an hour with a textbook open right in front of me because I value those conversations with my residents where they open up to me, but sometimes I wish residents realized that we also need time to ourselves.
RA training is known to be pretty difficult. How did you make it through with a level head?
I don’t know if I can even say I made it through the first few days with a level head because I was so incredibly overwhelmed. It definitely got better as the ten days of training went on, but it was really difficult. I tried to take any free time I had to do something I enjoyed, whether that be listening to music, writing, or catching up on a Netflix series. I think it’s super important to take those moments of time for yourself when you spend the rest of the day surrounded by people because it can be too much sometimes. I also just made sure to talk to the people I was close to and remember that there was a reason I wanted this job so badly. I had to keep reminding myself that all the exhaustion would be worth it once I got to meet my residents.
Tell me about your staff. What is the glue that holds you all together?
My staff is the strangest, most wonderful group of people I could have picked to work with this year. Honestly, when I met everyone the first day, I felt so awkward and I was worried that we weren’t going to mesh well, but as time progressed we became like a little family. We are all so unique and I think our strengths really compliment each other’s, which I am very grateful for now that I’ve seen how we all handle situations together. I think the glue that holds us together is our RD and the bond we made during training. My RD is such a good person and she keeps us together by being the person she is. She’s capable of having us laughing one second and talking seriously about incidents or programs the next. It’s really amazing to see how far we’ve come because of her, and I am so glad that my staff was lucky enough to end up together. I have formed great friendships with members of my staff in the short amount of time we’ve been here, and I don’t think I would be as happy with my job if it wasn’t for them.
Do you love your job?
I do love my job. It has its negatives, but at the end of the day, when residents leave me notes that say, “YOU’RE THE BEST RA” at my door or knock on my door just to bring me a cookie, I know that I made the right choice. Being an RA, you cannot go in expecting praise and thank yous because a lot of the times you’re not going to get any. It’s about finding joy in the little moments with your staff, your RD, and your residents and realizing that even if you only make a huge impact on one resident the entire year, you tried your best. I already know that this is going to be one of the most transformative years of my life because of this job, and I am so excited to keep falling in love with it as the year progresses.