Meet sophomore Celena Stoia, the president of the Residence Hall Association. On campus, she is also involved as a brand ambassador for Amazon and sister of Alpha Chi Omega. She recently spoke at UConn’s demonstration against discrimination that was held in response to derogatory statements written on a Muslim student’s door following the terror attacks in Paris.
1) How did you get involved with RHA and eventually become President?
I became involved with RHA last year as a freshman when I was secretary of Towers Hall Association. The Hall Associations are subsets of the larger organization, RHA. I fell in love with being able to create diverse, creative and inclusive programs for my area that really helped to foster a sense of campus community. Hall Associations are the first to receive Residence Hall Association applications. Residence Hall Association is an organization focused on serving, programming and advocating for the on campus residents of our university. To me, it looked like an excellent organization to build my leadership and professional development skills while also being able to work on projects I feel passionately about. I applied and interviewed for position of President, Vice President and Secretary and was selected for the position of President.
2) What are your duties as RHA President?
As RHA President I preside over all Executive Board meetings, decisions and plans. I facilitate group discussions, act as a liaison between university staff and residents as well as serve as a resource for the Hall Associations. We respond to programming needs of campus and are committed to providing diverse and culturally influenced programs., we also advocate for the needs of our residents and help fix issues ranging from facility fixes to interpersonal conflicts. As President it is my job to ensure all facets of RHA move smoothly and effectively.
3) What exactly was your speech about yesterday?
At the rally I wanted to address the residents of our campus and show public support of the Residence Hall Association. I wanted our residents to know that we took Mahmoud’s safety and personal concerns to heart and wanted our constituents to know that we will be responding to this event and that we are a resource they have to voice their concerns to as well.
4) How do you plan to address this issue?
The Residence Hall Association is in open communication with the Residential Life staff as to how we are going to move forward and address this issue. We are having a forum for our Hall Associations for them to represent their residents and provide us with information as to how this event has affected their constituents. In addition, we have issued a public statement on our social media pages. We would like to say that if any resident has a specific view or concern they would like to voice to us, we would me more than happy to move forward with them and support their needs fully.
5) What are your plans for the future while being President of RHA?
For the future I would like RHA to gain more notoriety around campus. I would like students to utilize our resources so that they can create the residential community that they desire. I would like to make our programs more diverse and culturally focused. I would like to expand our advocacy department into a resource that all on campus residents can be a part of to help make their concerns known.