In this RA*Chat episode for student staff members, join us to discuss some tips on being a newly hired Resident Assistant! Desiree A. Valdez Chavez gives actionable advice and reflective insights as an experienced student affairs professional.
Guest: Desiree A. Valdez Chavez (she/her), Assistant Director of Residence Life
Host: Anthony Martinez
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About ResEdChat
Roompact’s ResEdChat podcast is a platform to showcase people doing great work and talk about hot topics in residence life and college student housing. If you have a topic idea for an episode, let us know!
Transcript:
Anthony Martinez:
Roompact Res Ed Chat podcast today is a special RA chat edition, where we talk about issues that are of importance to our RAs and student staff members in housing and residence life. And today’s episode is, So You’re an RA? And it’s especially for those who have just accepted your RA offer. Congratulations, woo, woo, woo. And I have a special guest with us today, Desiree Valdez Chavez, a seasoned student affairs professional who is in a PhD program and who has worked closely with RAs in a variety of capacities. So Desiree, if you would like to introduce yourself.
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
Yeah, I don’t know what else to say. My name is Desiree Valdez Chavez. I use she/her/ella as pronoun. I have worked with students for a while now. I started my housing and residence life career as a desk attendant and then an RA, and now I’m an assistant director of residence life at Washington State University.
Anthony Martinez:
Yes, this is great. And I used to work with Desiree long ago, who got me into the field and just inspired me as a professional. We worked in Nye Hall together and I was a brand new RA and Desiree was giving me all the tips and tricks and so I’m really excited to be down memory lane right now. And to kind of kick us off, Desiree, I really want to ask you, from your own college experience, what are some things that you would tell RAs of like, wow, this is why I do the work that I do and this is why I’m in the field currently?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
Yeah. One of the big reasons I got into residence life was because I felt like residence life was what retained me my first year in college. I did all the student leadership things like our hall gov, RHA and whatnot. And then my sophomore year I became an RA after being a desk attendant my freshman year. So it was for me like, oh, this is what kept me. And then early on my sophomore year is when I was like, this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to go in to be a residence life person that tries to keep people, helps people find a place on the university.
So for me, that was the big driving force and moving through as an RA and then as a graduate residence director and then as a residential education director at Washington State. It was always the big driving force of whether it be your RAs, because sometimes even retaining your RAs is part of the conversation, but also how do we keep students involved? How do we keep students engaged? How do we keep students in college if it’s the right step for them because not everyone makes it to graduation. But I would say the driving force to the work that I try to do.
Anthony Martinez:
Yeah, that’s amazing, Desiree. I think you really touched on the impact that Residence life had on you, and it’s very clear and evident in that you really inspire students such as myself and that our RAs will also inspire students to want to graduate from the institution that they’re at. So that’s always the goal. And so to our new RAs who are watching and supervisors who I may have sent this out to their students, we’re excited to talk to you and the impact that you might have in your role as a resident assistant coming into your residence hall, apartment complex, whatever it may be. And so we’re going to just jump right in for people who have just been hired. And so Desiree, I really want to ask you, what are the first three things you’d recommend that these resident assistants do, to do mentally, to prepare for their role?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
I think the first three things you should do as you’re preparing for the role is understand where you are. If you’re coming in into it after your first year, it might be a little bit different if you’re becoming an RA in your senior year or something like that. So know what you’ve experienced and know what you want to experience. Go in with an idea, the RA job in itself is an experience that not everyone gets. So know what you want to experience and what you might be giving up or what you might be gaining in those situations because most RA jobs can be emotionally difficult and also know your boundary with that. So know where you’re at when you’re stepping into the job. Know what you’re willing to share with people.
I would consider myself an introvert. So being an RA, it really used a lot of my extroverted skills, but I knew some of my boundaries and as I gotten older, the students are still what drive me in a certain way of being able to interact with them and seeing them go through their years, when I’ve had the chance to work with them from freshman year to senior year, even if I didn’t work with them directly, you could see growth. And to understand my challenges this last year, again, whether you were a first year student, or a third year going into your fourth year, know the challenges, know what you want to get and know really what you can get from the job, like connections, whether it be your references or veering off into a new path before going into an RA job. Most people don’t find student affairs, so know what you want to do and don’t close yourself off because this was going to be an experience that can be life-changing. And so go into it with an open mind.
Anthony Martinez:
I love that, definitely going into it with an open mind and knowing, yeah, we both came into this field and we work in it now, but a lot of resident assistants may not do that. And so just being open to the experience but also utilizing your supervisor, like you said, to figure out, hey, is this something I want to do or can you be a reference for me? And knowing that your supervisors when coming in as a new student employee, a resident assistant, are there as a resource to support you, be letters of recommendation because this is a job and so they can do that for you and whatever your next step is. And so building that rapport is important. And with that, I want to ask you, what have you seen Desiree in the students that you’ve worked with and all the students that have come through at the institutions you’ve been at, what are some mindsets and habits that you find successful RAs tend to build early on in their role?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
Yeah, Anthony, you might have some experience being a busy body. So I think something that folk’s habit that is built very early on is learning how much time things take for oneself, like if they have several meetings, if they have several clubs, if they have several commitments, it’s knowing how much of themselves they’re giving to everything. And then really understanding what they have going on in the job. I think that’s true just to being a successful student. If you know what’s going on in your classes and in your syllabus, it’s the same with the job. It’s the same with your clubs, it’s the same with your other commitments. So I think one of the best things you can do very early on is understanding how things intertwine and intersect and how you can build from that, because there’s a lot of things that you may not anticipate and life doesn’t always go as planned. So if you can have an idea of what you can control, it makes it much easier for what you don’t control and what you can’t control.
Anthony Martinez:
Yeah, that’s great. I love that. But speaking of these things that you’ve seen in resident assistants and habits that they do build that are healthy, what do you think are some common pitfalls or myths that new RAs might believe when they’re coming into the role? So what’s something that you maybe would tell a new RA to debunk and not think about? I know one that I hear about often, and you also might have good perspective in, is to be a resident assistant, you have to be an extrovert. You have to knock on everyone’s doors and be in their face, which I was definitely that kind of RA, that resident director, but that’s definitely not true. Introverts, such as yourself, are successful and great in the role. And so what are some other myths or that one that you would want to debunk for these RAs that are coming into the role that are bit scared and maybe not so confident in their skills?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
Yeah, I think that in itself is a good example that you have to be an extrovert. I think if we only hired extroverts, people wouldn’t connect with people. And so I think that in itself is a true myth. I think using your extroversion and your introversion to an advantage, if you’re a planner, plan out your one-on-ones, plan out those connections, those conversations, those programs, those events. If you’re not a planner and you’re super spontaneous, your spontaneous conversations are impactful. But I think another myth that I think is kind of understood across the country is that RAs are like the police or they’re there to ruin the fun. I would say the complete opposite. I think you can have good, clean fun and follow the rules and do things that still build community, that still build a good relationship with folks. And at the end of the day, the myth of RAs are here to shut down the fun, that’s not true.
RAs are there to create fun and create an environment that you want to be in within their parameters. So I think knowing that you can make the job fun, knowing that you can make other people’s experiences fun, I would want everyone to understand that, RAs, parents, students. And at the end of the night, when your program is over, when your event is over, hopefully you look back at the day, the week and say, wow, this was exciting, this was fun. This is why I got into the job, because you helped someone, you impacted someone’s life. You brought out those introverts into a space, or you connected with someone that you hadn’t connected before. So yeah, that’s I think something that is a myth. They’re there to create a good environment, not to shut it down.
Anthony Martinez:
I love that. Yes, we are there to build community, at the end of the day. We want to build community with the students. We want them to enjoy their time at the institution and university. So if you’re an incoming RA, know that our goal is to build community. It is to support the students and to serve the students. And that’s great. Thank you, Desiree. I want us to switch into maybe building some of these skills if RAs don’t have it, and talk about connecting with supervisors. And so I think thing we’ll hear often from individuals who are coming into the role is they’re unsure on how to approach their supervisor, especially before training even begins. And so what do you think is some advice that you would give for someone reaching out for the first time to their supervisor? Would you suggest that? Would you have any tips? And so anything, again, for those new RAs coming into the role who want to meet with their supervisor, build that rapport?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
Yeah, I think there is a beauty in knowing who’s going to supervise you, because you can build that rapport before the semester, or the quarter, or the year training starts. There is something very nice about that. But I think at the end of the day, like I said, having an open mind. If you know your building, if you know your community, learn about it. You can learn about your community. You can learn about any of the traditions. I was an RA in the community that I lived in. And so for me, I knew some of the traditions, I knew some of the environments. Not everyone has that. So if you want to learn about the environment, learn about the supervision style, you can. But at the end of the day, that experience is going to be yours and the way I supervise you could be different to the way I supervise someone else because what you need is different and what those conversations are are different. And if you know that, you can say that, hey, from a supervisor, I’ve never had a job before, this is what I might need.
That’s totally, totally common. You’re going into this, it might likely be your first job and it might be your first job where you have other people that you’re caring for and that you’re looking after it in some way. And so being able to say, this is my bandwidth and this is where I’m at, this is how many spoons I have this week. So learning that about yourself and communicating that to someone, I think that’s important because at the end of the day, you’re a person, you’re a student and you’re giving a bit of yourself to this job. So understanding where you’re at as a person, where you’re at as a student, and how do you communicate that with whomever’s going to supervise you and whoever you work with. And it goes back to that very first thing of know where your boundaries are, know what you want to experience, because I think all of that plays into what those conversations with your supervisor and those conversations with your students will look like.
Anthony Martinez:
Yeah, that’s great, Desiree. I didn’t even think of some of those things of like, just research your building too, going ahead and look online, see what’s going on, what does your community style look like, are there living learning communities in there, and so that’s great. And then keeping an open mind because not every resident director is going to be in that building that a student may be in. And so turnover happens, movement happens. And so you can reach out to someone like, I’m excited to work with you. And then they’re not your supervisor anymore. They’re working in a different building for their own professional development as well.
And so I think that’s an important reminder for our students who are coming into this role. I think when talking about student affairs professionals, I’m wondering what you think would be some good advice to give an RA who is looking to build a professional relationship with their supervisor. And so what has that looked like in your experience in either supervising student staff or relationships that you’ve seen in student staff coming in, trying to build that relationship between them and their supervisor?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
Yeah, that’s definitely a tough one because the RA job and the residence director positions, they’re pretty intimate. There’s not many jobs where you have someone on call 24/7 or you’re on duty and someone shows up in their pajamas. So it’s very different than working at Starbucks or at a retail store. So it’s different in that capacity, where there is a lot of personal that goes into it. RAs will see their bosses in very vulnerable states, as their supervisors will see them in very vulnerable states, come midterms, comes finals, new jobs, scholarships, breakups. If there are tragedies like deaths in the family, you see people in very vulnerable states and that is all still professional. That is all still a part of life. That is all still something that happens.
And I think when you’re having a professional relationship with your boss and it intertwines or it blurs the line between the personal, know that for yourself, know what kind of relationship. If you’re coming into the meeting and you just want to talk about deadlines, say that. Say that you just want to talk about deadlines. If you want to talk about, hey, there’s something tough going on at home that is impacting your work, you can also say that. And so there’s those things that do blur and are still professional.
And at the end of the day, being professional in the setting is the standard that you set with that person of saying, hey, I want to come in and talk XYZ and you might want to talk ABC. This is how much time we have to do it. Great, that’s professional. But you might come in and be like, I just got this text message and I don’t know how to respond, totally unplanned for, both of which are very common within our profession and both of which I think are acceptable. So find yourself in your own professionalism with that person. And again, that’s going to look different with your supervisor. It’s going to look different with the student going in as an RA. And I think for myself, I’m very individualistic and that just looks so different with everyone. So hopefully that is some tangible advice. That’s what I would suggest to folks.
Anthony Martinez:
Yes, most definitely. I think it’s important to just remember that everyone is different. Everyone’s supervisory style is different and how people interact is different. And I’m really happy that you touched on a lot of the realities of how intimate this position is, where we all live, where we work. And so saying we are in very vulnerable states at times is true and accurate. And it’s something that I think important for students to be prepared for, to be aware of. And so thank you Desiree for touching on that. And you’re kind of already in the next area I really want to lead us into, which is tips and tools and words of encouragement to begin to close us out here. And so is there something small that new RAs can start doing now, even before formal training, to prep for the fall? Is there anything that you would suggest for their preparation before training or anything along those lines?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
This is going to sound like duh, but finish strong. Finish the year that you’re in now, strong. Finish everything that you have going on so that you can start fresh. Get refreshed over your summer, however long that might be, whatever it is that you have going on. I think the idea of like, oh, I’m going to start my door decs now. And then your supervisor comes along in August and says, “I don’t like these.” So there’s something about getting ahead, but there’s also something about give yourself a break. You’re just finishing off your semester, hopefully you’re finishing it off well. So finish strong, finish everything that you have to finish. You’ve done the interview, you’ve got the job. Just go take care of yourself now. Learn about yourself a little bit more, if you haven’t had the chance to explore some things so that when you’re going into things next year, you might be able to explore some of that. That could be your first program.
If you’ve never gotten into journaling and you want to start journaling, that could be a program. There’s some things that discover for yourself that you can implement and share with people later. So I think just take that time, finish strong, take a break over the summer if you have an opportunity to and come into the job. Give it as much as you can. Give it 100%. Some people give it 120. And so I think it’s just about understanding where it is that you’re coming from and how much you can give to this position, but you don’t want to go into it already tired because it’s going to make the job potentially more difficult for you, not only to be in but to enjoy.
Anthony Martinez:
That’s great advice, Desiree. I think it’s important for students to take a break for a second. I know you mentioned earlier some people are go, go, go, I got to do this, I got to do that. But that reflection piece, taking a break, figuring out what you enjoy, because again, we’re here to build community. And if you’re building community and sharing parts of what you enjoy, like you had mentioned journaling or this type of sport and being like, hey, I’m going to put on this program, come on out, this is what we’re going to be doing, to show who you are. People can see that and they’re like, wow, that’s really cool. This is something about my resident assistant that I enjoy. But would we know that if we don’t take the time to do that self-reflection, to figure out, oh, this is what I like.
And so for our new resident assistants coming in, I know you’re excited and you should be, congratulations yet again on your role, but it’s important to figure out those things that you enjoy because you also want to start building that community with your residents and letting them know a bit about who you are, so that way they can find ways to relate to you and to build those relationships. But Desiree, I do want to put you in a situation where I’m a new RA and I am a bit nervous. And I want to ask you, what’s a mantra or some affirmation, a word of encouragement that you would give someone like me, a nervous RA coming into the role?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
Yeah, I think for me, I’ve always said learn, discover, and grow for myself. Every day on the job, you’re learning something, you’re discovering something about yourself. And at the end of the day, like I said, you’re growing. And so see that growth and do it again. I understand that everyone coming into this position, again, might be a first year RA coming out of their freshman year, or might be a fourth year student coming out of their junior year wanting to have done this job at least a year, learn, discover, and grow, because throughout this all, you’re going to be learning about people. You’re going to be learning about yourself. You’re going to be learning about the institution. Discover what’s out there, discover what you can do, discover what you can do for yourself, discover what you can do for others, and then grow through it all. There’s growing pains, but there’s also success in growth and there’s so much to do there. So those are my three words. Learn, discover, and grow. However you interpret that for yourself, please just go out and do those three things.
Anthony Martinez:
Yes. Thank you, Desiree. I’m going to take those words now too, learn, discover and grow. We’re going to start wrapping up here, but Desiree, I do want to ask you, and then I would really encourage the people watching this, if you are a resident assistant coming into the role, if you could write a letter to your younger self just starting out in student leadership, and so as a resident assistant, what would it say? So what would your letter say, Desiree? Of course, you don’t have to tell us. And then again, for people watching, if you want to participate and write a letter to yourself, maybe store it away, look at it later. What’s a piece of advice or something you would give yourself?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
You’re exactly where you need to be. You’re exactly where you’re meant to be. I think that younger me dreamed of this and younger me wanted to go into residence life when I got into this nearly 10 years ago. I’m still young.
Anthony Martinez:
Yes, I agree. I agree.
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
So I think everything that you’re doing right now as an RA is something that you’re going to look back and you’re going to look back on it fondly and you’re going to become the person that you dreamt about. And the person you are now is a person that you dreamt about five years ago. So I think thinking that and taking it in, it goes back to that growth piece and continuing to learn about yourself. And even through the hard times, I’ve learned about myself, and I appreciate the good as much as the bad because through it all, I became who I am today. So that’s what I would tell my younger self. I’m living the dream. I’m living the dream.
Anthony Martinez:
I love it. Thank you, Desiree. With that, where can folks find you if they want to connect or learn more from you and your great words of wisdom that you’ve shared with us?
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
I would say LinkedIn, but I don’t post on LinkedIn often. So I think if folks want to get a hold of me, probably emailing to my work email would be the best way to reach me. And if you see an out of office, that’s a good thing because that means I’m taking care of myself and my life.
Anthony Martinez:
Yes, so good.
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
So yeah, I would say my work email. I’m at Washington State University, so you can find me at d.valdezchavez@wsu.edu. Same name on LinkedIn. If you’re interested in seeing me there. I promise I’ll update it at some point. That’s some other advice. Update your LinkedIn.
Anthony Martinez:
Yeah, put on your LinkedIn that you’re a resident assistant. We want to know about it. We want to share, we want to repost.
Desiree A. Valdez Chavez:
On there. I do really need to update it. So if I can take my own advice, that’s what I’ll do after we finish this podcast.
Anthony Martinez:
Perfect. Well, with that, I do want to say thank you so much, Desiree, for sharing these helpful and really heartfelt insights to all of the new RAs out there. So again, thank you, Desiree. I really appreciate it. And to everyone listening, again, here at Roompact, we’re rooting for you and we are again excited for you to be in your role. And we just want you to know that you’ve got this. And so thank you for listening.
