Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
The phrase โstudent leaderโ 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 →
Letโs set the scene: Your supervisor asks when youโre next planning to take a vacation. Maybe theyโre even encouraging you to do so. Your (at least internal) response: โYeah, sure, in the summer.โ If youโre like me, that may come from the stress of planning leave at any. other. time. Thereโs always something - a... Continue Reading →
When I began supervising, I quickly identified my โgo-toโ RA. They always showed up, completed tasks, connected with the community, and followed through without reminders. When something was missed - a program, bulletin board, or interaction - I knew exactly who would step in. And they always did. At the time, it felt like good... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, Crystal sits down with Aaron Lucier, Interim Director of Housing & Residential Life at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Aaron reflects on what mattered most, how the field has evolved, and the lessons learned along the way. From leadership and identity to the moments that sustained them, this conversation offers insight and guidance for the next generation of housing professionals.
If youโre applying to be housing staff - whether as an RA, HA, CA, or another resident support role, youโre probably trying to figure out what the process is really looking for. Thereโs often pressure to give the โrightโ answers in applications or interviews, to appear polished, experienced, and fully prepared. It can feel like... Continue Reading →
Iโll admit it, I was one of those student affairs professionals who happily declared themselves a โResLifer for Lifeโ; I might as well have gotten it tattooed on me. Well, good thing I didnโt, because I had the curious experience of being asked to leave residence life and, this academic year, step in as the... Continue Reading →
Abstract High engagement, low stakes, and improvisation are at the core of this new game-based learning approach to staff training. Originally designed for Graduate and Full-Time Incident Response training, Duty & Dragons uses game mechanics from Role-Playing Table-Top Games (RPTTG) to provide an innovative and effective approach to practicing real-world scenarios, conflict navigation, and other... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, Host Paul sits down with one of our 2026 Roompact Fellows, Kaleigh Mrowka, to discuss student learning and curriculum, restorative practices, and encouraging campus dialogue. An interesting through-line develops which can give residence hall professionals multiple strategies and elements to incorporate in their work of making meaningful spaces for resident students. (Ledo's Pizza and a kitten also make an appearance.)
What makes a satisfying conclusion? Do you go for heartfelt with warm and fuzzy feelings? Or perhaps you like something more bittersweet. You might even like a surprise twist ending. Iโm a sucker for a good ending to a movie (the original Halloween and The Shawshank Redemption are among my favorites, not that you asked),... Continue Reading →
We Couldn't Do It Without You We've released a ton of software features in the past few months and all of your feedback has been invaluable. Thank you for help and understanding as we work through these updates. With your help, these beta releases will be ready to go by the fall! We developed a... Continue Reading →
Roompact's bulletin board competition is now closed and we're ready to announce the winners. We received over 130 entires (!), so picking ten was incredibly difficult. Some boards did an excellent job at educating residents, while others were just beautiful! We tried to select a diverse group of winners that reflected the diversity of the... Continue Reading →
Picture it, Summertimes. Perhaps youโre overseeing a project that couldnโt get done during the academic year or maybe youโre coordinating summer student housing or working with camps and conferences. Thereโs something about summer though that feels much more relaxed for many of us working in residence life. That is until July creeps up on us... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's RA*Chat, join Da Zhaneโ Sinclair for advice when everything goes wrong in the middle of the night, and how you respond. This episode dives into the high-pressure reality of on-call life, unpacking how to make quick, confident, and policy-aligned decisions when it matters most for students! From managing emergencies to navigating resident conflict, we explore strategies to stay calm, think clearly, and lead effectively even at 2 AM.
When being hired/re-hired as a live-in student leader, there is one big question that most student leaders think about: โWhere am I going to live?โ First, Iโd like to share my personal experience with this: The first time I applied to be a Community Advisor (CA, often called an RA), it was exciting to apply... Continue Reading →
โIs God real?โ Itโs a question students are already asking themselves, out loud and internally, even if not in those exact words. If you find yourself getting uncomfortable when presented with conversations about God, faith, religion, or belief systems, this blog post is for you. Letโs explore why weโre doing students a disservice by ignoring... Continue Reading →
Among professionals and student staff alike, there are few times as painstaking and perhaps controversial as returning staff training. Generally, responses can come back to โI learned this last year (or the year before),โ โI could be doing other things right now,โ and โthis is too longโ among returning staff. The reality is that annual... Continue Reading →
If youโve ever looked at a training agenda and thought, โWe should probably throw in something interactive here,โ you are in very good company. Residence life has long relied on the hope that if we scatter enough icebreakers and small group discussions throughout trainingโ a name game here, a marshmallow tower there, and sharing fun... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat,ย join our host Noah Montague and guest Pamela Ianiro, Area Coordinator at the University of Cincinnati, as they talk about and explore residence life traditions. From door decs to behind closed doors, Residence Life professionals around the country engage with traditions, but where do these traditions really come from? What was their purpose originally? What is it now?ย How do these traditions guide our work? In this episode, Pamela and Noah explore these traditions and examine the impact the serve now while telling stories and also providing advice for staff looking to learn from and interact with the traditions we all know and (sometimes) love.ย
