The Concordian

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If you are ever in need of assistance while living at Concord, the people to turn to are your resident assistants. These are upper-class students who live on each floor of Wilson Hall, Sarvay Hall, Wooddell Hall, and North and South Towers to help students in various areas of their lives here at Concord.

The duties of an RA include peer counseling, social programming, responding to fire alarms, addressing medical emergencies, calling in work orders, ensuring that campus policies are being followed, letting students into their rooms in the case that they are locked out, and generally connecting students with the administration.

RAs also must take turns working the front desk of each building from 7 p.m. to midnight each night of the week.

In order to become an RA, one must go through a detailed process. Selection begins in the spring, and interested students must submit an application and a resume.

The hiring process begins with a weekend of natural helpers training and icebreakers. Then, a meeting will be scheduled with a panel of RAs, resident directors, and members of the Office of Housing and Residence Life staff.

Next, the prospective RA schedules a mock-duty night in which he shadows a current RA in a building other than his own dorm. During this process, the applicant learns the policies and procedures of a typical night on duty, and the current RAs and RDs observe his progress.

“This is a good experience, providing a preview for both the applicant and housing employees should the applicant be selected, as well as an opportunity for everyone to meet each other,” Wilson Hall RA Anne Endres said.

“This is my first semester as an RA, and I love it! I really enjoy working with residents; I feel that the girls on my floor and I have built camaraderie. Most of my residents are freshmen; it is neat to see their adjustments and growth and it is rewarding to be able to empathize with their experiences and answer their questions,” Endres said.

“I absolutely love my job. Between student activities and housing, I’ve pretty much led my (college) life through student affairs and hope to continue that trend while in graduate school. That being said, it can be stressful and time consuming,” South Tower RA Andrew Summers said.

Generally, each residence hall has one RA per floor, though this can differ. Sarvay Hall, for example, only has three because it is home to fewer residents. Each floor can house between 20 and 50 students, and the RA is responsible for keeping the peace among them.

Although an RA can request where he wants to be posted, it is not uncommon to receive a different assignment than desired. Also, RAs can be posted on different floors or buildings from year to year.

“I love working in South Tower (having my own bathroom is great), but it is primarily an upperclassmen dorm and I would have liked the opportunity to work more with freshmen,” Summers said.

“I am very happy in Wilson; here I find a great sense of community,” Endres said.

However, the job of an RA is also a serious commitment. They have to be prepared to deal with various problems and emergencies whenever necessary.

“I’ve dealt with everything from medical emergencies and fires (last year) to moving ridiculous amounts of furniture and cleaning up vomit after the maintenance staff went home. We’re kind of workhorses in that way,” Summers said.

But their work does not go unrewarded. RAs get paid almost $600 per month. However, contrary to popular belief, they do not receive payment for room and board.

And though they may get a bad reputation for having to enforce the rules, this is simply their duty.

“I just want to remind students that we are resident assistants. At its roots, this is primarily a service position, and while we may have to write people up from time to time, most of us are here because we genuinely give a damn, not because we want to be disciplinarians,” Summers said.

Anyone interested in being an RA is encouraged to apply in the spring. “Go for it! By applying, you have nothing to lose. Being an RA is a great experience. I recommend it to students of all majors. For me, being a resident assistant helps reaffirm that I want to work with people and in higher education in my career,” Endres said.

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