Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
By Vicente Román Starting your first year as an RA is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. Between programming, on-call duties, conflict resolution, and administrative tasks, it’s easy to feel like you need to devote every moment to your role. One key lesson I’ve learned from supervising Housing Assistants in graduate and family housing... Continue Reading →
So, you’ve officially landed the RA job. First off, congratulations! You’ve survived the interviews, the group process, and the waiting game. Now that the initial "I got the job!" high is settling, you might be feeling a mix of excitement and a sudden, slight panic about what actually happens next. Being a Resident Assistant is... Continue Reading →
The semester is winding down, and if you’re like most RAs or student staff members, you’ve probably reached that point where the finish line feels both agonizingly close and impossibly far away. One minute you’re worried about your own final exams and summer internship plans, and the next, you’re staring down a mountain of key... Continue Reading →
Valentine’s Day can signify many different things for people. Some love the holiday, and will use it as a chance to celebrate everyone, no matter if the relationship is familial, platonic, or romantic. While others can’t wait for the season to end. Regardless of where on this spectrum you land, it’s undeniable that this holiday... Continue Reading →
By Danielle Jones Becoming an RA for the first time is an exciting time. There are many possibilities of what the future may hold and the impact one may get to have on their residents. However, returning as an RA can sometimes bring challenges. With a year or two of experience, returning may feel draining.... Continue Reading →
By Austin Korynta In the (highly unlikely) event that nobody has told you this yet, congratulations on accepting the RA role! Being an RA is such an integral part to so many students’ lives. Throughout your time, you will make a significant impact on your community of residents’ lives, providing care in critical moments, outlets... Continue Reading →
By Abby Schuck It’s 7:30pm on Tuesday night (the time your Cocoa and Coloring program is set to start) but only you and a couple other RAs are there. You decide to give it a little more time. but now it’s 20 minutes later and still…nothing. You can’t figure out what happened. You were intentional... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's RA*Chat, we we are joined by Marcus Zacarias (UC Berkeley) to solve the puzzle of low attendance and low energy. The secret? It doesn’t require a massive budget or hours of planning. We dive deep into the art of micro-programming and intentional conversations. Discover how RAs and student staff members can maintain community momentum even during the busiest times of the year by focusing on low-effort, high-reward interactions that meet residents exactly where they are.
Within your role in Residence Life as a student leader there can be turnover. Sometimes a fellow student leader needs to step away, leaving a position that needs to be filled. Depending on the timing of this occurrence, it is typical for the now open role to be offered to a student leader candidate from... Continue Reading →
By Rachel Caine Welcome to an exciting new chapter in your college life! Being an RA requires a special kind of person, and I hope you are incredibly proud of yourself for landing this role! I invite you to go in ambitious, ready to take on new challenges and learn. You will learn so much... Continue Reading →
January on campus tends to arrive with a mix of hope and pressure. It brings with it that new quarter/semester energy and, sometimes, new resolutions that feel motivating on January 1 but disheartening by the end of the first week. As Resident Advisors, you are not only navigating your own growth but also being role... Continue Reading →
Returning as a Resident Advisor is a deliberate choice. It’s a decision made after you’ve already experienced late-night duty rounds, difficult conversations, paperwork, and emotional labor. No one accidentally signs up to do this job twice. That’s why, when the year becomes demanding, it’s essential to remember why you came back to this job in... Continue Reading →
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ By Kiyauna Lewis When you start as an RA, your first initiative is to be as present for your residents as possible. Although this is a great way to start, it can become incredibly overwhelming and draining, almost immediately. The last thing you would want is... Continue Reading →
By Kate Pilcher Returning to the RA role often comes with a quiet, unspoken pressure: you should know this by now. You’ve already navigated your way around campus, duty, rounds, roommate conflicts, crisis protocols, and the sometimes emotionally taxing labor that comes with supporting residents. Due to exposure and experience, returning RAs are frequently seen... Continue Reading →
At some point in your time as a student leader, you may get a different supervisor. Sometimes this happens because you are put on a different community/building team at the start of a new school year, while other times it is because a supervisor has left and a new supervisor is hired in their place.... Continue Reading →
By Erin Brown To all the returning RAs out there, welcome back and congratulations – you made it through at least a semester of staff meetings, on call nights, bulletin boards, and programming. You worked on building community, developing yourself through 1:1s and programs, and showing up as a leader to your area. You’re getting... Continue Reading →
By Molly Murray Stop me if this sounds familiar. “Why do I have to go to training again? I’ve been an RA for years and I’ve already sat through all of this.” You’re not wrong. Attending RA training as a returner can feel like watching a rerun of a TV show. But hear me out,... Continue Reading →
Resident Advisors (RAs) are first and foremost community builders. One of the simplest and most useful frameworks you can use to understand how your residents grow as a group is Tuckman’s stages of group development. This includes five stages (four of which I'm focusing on here): forming, storming, norming, (performing), and adjourning. In university housing,... Continue Reading →
