It was my freshman year, fall semester when I began thinking about becoming a Resident Assistant at Ohio University. I attended the mandatory information sessions, sent in my application, had my necessary letters of recommendation and waited. I soon received the email saying I was moving onto the interview process. I scheduled my interview time and began to prepare. The interview went as well as any interview could. All I could do was wait.
As the excitement inside me grew, I finally received an email. I had been placed on the alternate list. I felt defeated and didn’t know what to do. I would now have to pick a residence hall to live in and find a roommate. I eventually settled on a hall and was assigned a random roommate, while I patiently waited for news about a job opening.
The end of the spring semester was approaching and I received an offer to attend RA training as an alternate. This would allow me to move back to school early, go through training and gave an upper hand when it came to hiring during the semester. I gladly accepted, filled out the necessary paperwork, while still hoping to get hired over the summer.
Training came and along with 19 other alternates, we grew close as we went through the awkward motions of training while still not being hired. Throughout training, a few alternates were hired and taken into their new residence hall groups. Although we weren’t hired, the alternates had an amazing time getting to know each other and still talk to this day!
As I slowly began losing hope, and my current roommate situation was turning toxic, I received an email week nine of the semester offering me to go through training again during winter break to stay at the top of the alternate list. I accepted. That same day as I was on the phone with my mom, talking about going to RA training and wondering when I’d ever be hired, my Apple Watch started buzzing like crazy. I looked and saw the email saying, “Congratulations! On behalf of Housing & Residence Life, we are pleased to offer you a position as a Resident Assistant”. I instantly began crying. I had also received a phone call asking to accept a position instead of attending training as an alternate, which explains why my Watch was going crazy.
The process was fast and I moved in the next week. I had many meetings about learning how to work the websites, getting keys and everything inside and out about my new complex. I am now a couple weeks into my job and absolutely love it. My team of staff members within my complex are amazing. I instantly gained so many friends when I was hired as they accepted me onto their team.
If you’re thinking about becoming an RA, I highly recommend it. The experience has been amazing between the people you meet, training you receive and awesome residents you’ll have. Even if you’re put on that alternate list, never lose hope because you never know when you’ll receive your call!
For more information about becoming an RA at Ohio University, check out: https://www.ohio.edu/housing/ra_recruitment.cfm