Everyone remembers their first-year experience of living in the residence halls. There were both good and bad times, from people burning popcorn in the community microwave to having movie nights in the lounge with friends. Little did you know, there were a group of students working hard to make your experience in the dorms, and on campus, the best that it could be. Known as “RAs”, the Resident Assistants are this week’s Campus Celebrity. As the year comes to a close, these student employees should be given two huge thumbs up for all that they do.
As a freshman, I thought that RAs just lurked the hallways, waiting for opportunities to get residents in trouble. But as I began to actually become friends with my RAs, I realized how much more they did to make the residence halls the best it could possibly be. Now, as a brand new RA on campus, I have had a closer look at just how much effort goes into making that first-year experience great.The Res Hall staff works hard to put together fun door decorations, cool bulletin boards, and free events for the residents. They stay up late at night to make sure that those neighbors of yours are quiet while you are trying to study or sleep and that the funky smells or weird stains in the community spaces get cleaned up right away. They answer the duty phone at three in the morning when you’ve locked yourself out of your room, again, to open up the door for you.
There is a lot of grunt work that goes into it, but the most amazing part is how excited they are to support the residents in personal and academic success while at Oregon State University and beyond.
(International Living-Learning Center Resident Assistants)
Let’s hear some insight from current Resident Assistant, Cara Chase, of the International Living-Learning Center:
HC at Oregon State: What is your favorite part about being an RA?
Cara: My favorite part is being able to work with a variety of different types of student and help them with the transition of entering college, no matter where they are starting from. Basically, just being a support system for them and being able to provide for them the resources they need for them to be the most successful.
HC at Oregon State: Is there anything that most people are surprised to find out about RAs?
Cara: In general, the amount of hours we put in. On paper, we are at desk a few hours a week but it is more of a 24 hour job because we live where we work. We are the first responders after hours, no matter what kind of unexpected situation a resident has. We are the ones expected to handle it.
HC at Oregon State: Has there been a moment that was most gratifying or made you realize how big your impact on residence are?
Cara: Earlier this year during hall opening, we had a resident check in who was not assigned to our hall, but she did not know. She was an international student. I talked to her and her dad to help figure out where they were supposed to go. Once we found out what hall she was assigned to, I walked over to the hall with both of them. She was super thankful for the help, especially since she felt really lost on campus. I see her around even today and she always says hi. It is the little things like that that make you see that we help students in a deeper way than we might realize… Just the fact that someone is reaching out to them can really make a difference in a student’s experience on campus.