Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
May is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. It is a time when conversations around wellness, balance, and self-care become more visible. As student staff, you likely can easily list approaches for supporting mental health. Strategies such as sleep, boundaries, exercise, connection, and mindfulness. You’ve probably discussed these in training sessions or workshops. The challenge... Continue Reading →
When people first step into supervision, there’s often an unspoken assumption: if you pay attention, if you observe closely enough, you’ll catch issues early and fix them. Supervision, then, becomes a matter of having really good eyesight (see what I did there?). But the longer I sit in a mid-level role, the more I realize... Continue Reading →
Abstract "Being a live-in professional means you’re always on—navigating resident crises, supervising student staff, building community, and somehow trying to have a life of your own. It’s easy to slip into survival mode or feel like you have to “perform” leadership instead of actually feeling like yourself in the role. Using The 15 Commitments of... Continue Reading →
In this episode of ResEdChat, Crystal sits down with Desmond Thomas, Meeting Logistics Coordinator for AME Church, to explore what it’s like to enter housing and residence life from another profession. Desmond reflects on what drew him to the field, the skills that carried over, and how his prior experience shaped his approach to the work.
As a Residence Life student staff member, stepping into a summer role can feel like a completely different job. The structure of the academic year fades, and residence halls quickly fill with new faces, expectations, and a faster pace. For anyone who has not experienced summer on campus before, it can feel overwhelming at first,... Continue Reading →
It’s truly the most glorious time of the year. The days are longer, the sun is shining and we are days away from the peace that comes with our students moving out of the residence halls for a few months. This might be the time to deep clean your office, reach out to all of... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, Host Paul Brown sits down with 2026 Roompact Fellow, Amanda Knerr to talk about assessment in residence life. Assessment can be scary. It can be difficult. But it doesn't have to be. Amanda and Paul talk about tangible and tangible steps departments can take to make assessment infused in all departmental practices from formative to summative.
On March 29, 2026, with ten seconds left on the clock, University of Connecticut (UConn) men’s basketball team was trailing Duke by three points in the Elite Eight. (If you’re not a sports person, stay with me. It’ll make sense soon). Silas Demray Jr. from UConn made one of two free throws knocking the lead... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, I became a residence life graduate assistant, drawing on prior experience as a student staff member, relevant coursework in pedagogy and sociology of higher education, and participation in a student affairs seminar led by my alma mater's senior student affairs officer. My undergraduate capstone project centered on the curricular approach, the main... Continue Reading →
This episode of RA*Chat features insights from Tim Turner, offering advice to help RAs navigate move-out with confidence and care. From handling damage-related conversations and conducting thorough room checks to managing residents' emotions, Tim emphasizes the importance of clear communication, accomplishments, and getting support from peers and supervisors. He also shares strategies for managing stress during this busy season while still creating a positive and supportive closing experience for residents.
Consider a scenario in which you require guidance, support, or a professional recommendation from your supervisor. Despite working closely with them, you recognize that your relationship has remained largely transactional. This realization highlights the importance of intentionally developing that connection before it becomes necessary. Why This Matters It is important to acknowledge that most of... Continue Reading →
I used to call the students that I work with my team or my students, but I don’t anymore. Surface level, there is nothing wrong with that. It is super normal to claim ownership over something you are a part of, especially if that something is a group of people that you hired. That group... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, join our host Noah Montague and guest, Emily Abrams, Assistant Director of Dow STEM Scholars at Michigan State University, as they talk about crip theory and its implications for Residence Life Staff and for the halls themselves. Student Development Theories give us language through which to understand and implement our work and crip theory is no different, especially for Residence Life Staff. What does it mean for students and staff to be working in inaccessible residence halls? What does it look like for staff to put this theory into practice? In this episode, Emily and Noah explore these questions and examine the impact of ableism on the college student experience while telling stories and providing practical advice for Residence Life Staff navigating these very systems and structures.
Post-spring break, hopefully you came back refreshed. Some of your residents… did not. Across campuses, the weeks leading up to finals see a surge of roommate and suitemate conflicts. There’s a tipping point as students hit their stress limit: stress builds, burnout sets in, and small issues start to feel much bigger. As an RA... Continue Reading →
Residence life is full of noise: resident needs, constant programming, staff follow-ups, and the day-to-day unpredictability of the work. Yet beneath that noise are patterns, rhythms, and repeated practices that shape our communities year after year. Ask yourself: when was the last time you truly reflected on your community or department’s practices? What did that... Continue Reading →
I am a major fan of both Hamilton: The Musical and utilizing a curricular approach, and recently presented these topics at the Western Association of College and University Housing Officers (WACUHO) annual conference. My fabulous colleague and I had the opportunity to share a few of the ways utilizing elements of a curriculum can help... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, we welcome Dr. Shirley O'Brien, Foundation Professor for the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at EKU. This episode explores the collaborative partnership between the Occupational Therapy and Housing & Residence Life department to develop and implement the Colonels Mentoring Colonels Peer Mentor Program, an initiative to support residential and commuter students who identify as neurodiverse.
The phrase “student leader” is not new to the higher education landscape. It has been used to describe students who are involved with student government, recognized student organizations, fraternity and sorority life, and of course, housing and residence life. Oftentimes, the student leaders in housing and residence life hold multiple positions in various organizations across... Continue Reading →
