2008 Woodie Awards
A day in the life of an RA
Ashley Abernathy
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Features
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The answer is simple: Resident Advisors.
Though the answer may be simple, the job of an RA is quite the contraire.
There are more than 100 RAs on ECU's campus, and each RA must go through a lengthy application process that consists of several different interviews.
Second year RA Brittney Dunn applied for the position her sophomore year.
"If you're going to have a job on campus, you might as well have one that allows you to help others," said Dunn.
RAs serve many roles, including being a resource for residents as well as mediators between students when conflicts arise.
There are several ECU policies that RAs try to enforce in the residence halls, including no visitation of the opposite sex after 2 a.m., no loaning out keys and ECU's Zero Tolerance Policy of alcohol and drugs.
Each night, RAs do rounds in their residence halls to make sure everything and everyone is safe and sound.
"RAs benefit us because they keep us safe," said freshman Aycock resident Samantha Wenger. "They watch out for us."
Although enforcing rules may seem intimidating to some, most RAs find that the hardest part of the job is time management.
"Balancing meetings and programs and staying on top of your work at the same time is probably the most difficult thing about this job," Dunn said.
Each week, every residence hall has a meeting with their entire RA staff to go over program ideas and ways to better assist residents.
Each staff has programming requirements to meet by the end of each semester.
This means RAs must complete a number of programs within the hall that touch on certain topics like diversity, academies and relationships.
Two halls, Garrett and Aycock, have more strict requirements for these programs.
Since both halls are "First Year Experience" halls, residents must complete two programs per month, which means more planned programs from the RAs.
According to Dunn, First Year Experience RA, holding programs helps build community among residents and helps students enjoy living on campus.
"It feels good being able to help residents feel [at] home away from home," Dunn said.
RAs are chosen to represent a diverse population. Coming from many backgrounds, beliefs and ethnicities, they each relate to students in different ways.
Other responsibilities?
RAs lead open houses for incoming freshmen and help residents adjust during the first few days of move-in.
"I genuinely believe some of the main reasons resident advisors are in the residence halls is to act as a resource for residents, develop community within the hall and to assist with policy regulations," said Kiya Bolds, Tyler Hall coordinator.
"It would be chaos if we didn't have RA's," Wenger said.
This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.
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