By Jada Harrison, Staff Writer
As the school year comes to an end, the Promise office says that they are looking for dedicated and leader oriented students to become the new resident assistants (RAs) for the Fall 2021 semester. RAs are student leaders that assist their peers in becoming situated as a resident on campus. RA’s are responsible for the students who reside on one floor of the eight residence halls on campus. Students can use RA’s as a resource to navigate their experience at the university.
By taking on this role, students must be prepared to help and work with one another while also improving conflict resolution skills.
Sophomore musical theatre major Braylnn Willis expressed the importance of being open and engaging when applying to be an RA.
“Students who are communicative, compassionate and hardworking make great RA’s. You have to do it for the love of the students and campus, and that requires an open heart and a lot of effort,” she said.
The daily shift of a resident assistant begins at 7 p.m. and ends at 11 P.M., however, RA’s are still on call throughout the night in the event of an emergency. The overall job varies, and is not as simple as remaining on call according to Promise Coach and Residence director Breanna Washington.
“The daily job of a Resident Assistant is to maintain rapport with residents, attend daily duty shifts, implement engaging programs and serve as an active presence in the Residence Halls,” Washington said.
Towards the end of the school year, the Residence Halls Directors and the Promise office open the applications for students to apply to become an RA, this opportunity is not available to incoming freshmen.
Willis spoke about how she found out about the position and her experience in the interview process.
“So, I heard about this opportunity through the email sent out from Promise. Before I entered college I had heard about the position and was interested in applying, so I kept my eye out for that email,” she said. “I want to be an RA because I think it’s a good opportunity to meet new people and be involved on campus. I want to help create a community, since I am a resident student.”
The dedication shown by Willis is the type of applicant that Washington and the other directors find are important for this esteemed position.
“Resident Assistants create living-learning communities, built on trusting relationships, collaboration and engaging programming centered around socialism, education, and philanthropy,” Washington said. “Students can become an Resident Assistant by going through an extensive application process.”
Students who applied for the position will go through various team building exercises, as well as a series of group and solo interviews with resident directors.
“During the interview process, students will have the opportunity to meet the Promise staff and leadership, who will support them in the position, and thereafter,” Washington said.
Students who missed out on the application deadline this year but want to apply to be RA’s should keep an eye out for an email from the Promise office to apply next year.
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