Community Service

We all know that being an RA means that you are going to find ways for you to participate in events with the people from your hall. Well, an excellent way to be involved is through community service. Today, yes Saturday, me a fellow RA and 7 of our residents went to a trail service day at the Broad River Greenway. We were there from 10-12 and we spent the time digging runoff paths on the trails so that when it rains the water will not puddle up on the trails. This was an excellent bonding time for the guys on my floor. Doing service work together can truly strengthen friendships. Also, to top it all off when we got back to the ranger station, we were informed that someone had bought all of us lunch from Subway! It's cool how people love to serve one another and how giving back is so beneficial.

If you would like to learn more about the Broad River Greenway feel free to check out there site:
http://www.broadrivergreenway.com/

Do you have a minute?

There are times when you may just be walking through your hall to get to another location on campus and someone will stop you to ask you a quick question. When you are an RA this is something that may occur regularly. Personally, I find that this is a great opportunity to hang out with the people on your hall and to show that you are actually invested in their lives. This is something that happened to me this evening. I was swinging by my room to drop off my books before I went to hang out with some friends. When I was heading out one of my residents stopped me to see how my day went. Before I knew it 30 minutes had passed and there were seven of us total that were now talking with one another in the hall way. This was an awesome experience and just a fun time in general. It is moments like these in which you have to remember that being an RA is a job that requires flexibility and it requires you to be someone that loves spending time with people. Regardless, these are some of the best experiences in residence halls.

New RA's

The interviews have happened and the results are in! The RA's for next year have been selected and we are very excited about this upcoming year. All of the applicants were excellent but like in every decision making process not everyone can be selected. However, I can speak on behalf of all the staff when I say that next year is going to be a blast. Once again. Congratulations to all of the new RA's and I look forward to all of the fun that we are going to have next year!

Pardon The Interruption

I have decided that due to the fact that it snowed today in Boiling Springs it is worth me sharing with you all. Now, I know that this is not directly related to Res Life but snow is a huge deal. The weather has forecasted snow for our are several times this school year and this is the first time that we have actually seen any! Today was beyond amazing. All lot of my friends and myself got together and we had an awesome snow ball fight and then we decided to go sledding down a steep hill that we have on campus. After all of that we decided that today was the perfect day to go for a polar bear plunge. We wore jeans and t shirts and jumped into the freezing cold water. I'm not too sure as to why we thought this was a great idea but it was a lot of fun. Aside from what we did, there are several other things that you can do with your friends on a snow day.

To check out some other awesome ideas you can visit: http://www.discoverfun.com/freeinfo/500fun/winter.html

Rounds With the Queen!

This evening I had the privilege of going on Rounds with Sara Phillips! She was our Homecoming Queen and one of my great friends here at Gardner-Webb. As I have mentioned before, rounds is when two RA's walk through all of the residence halls on campus to ensure that everything is going smoothly. This is also a great time to build some campus wide community. Sara ( the Queen as most like to call her) and I had a great time walking around and talking with some of the residents. It was also a great night to have rounds. The weather was perfect! There were no clouds in the sky and the temperature was just right. This was definitely one of my favorite rounds!

Cultural Diversity Game Show

As I have mentioned several times before, programming is a major part of being an RA. Yesterday, my entire building hosted a Cultural Diversity Game Show to test our residents knowledge of foreign countries and their cultures. This was a great opportunity for the guys to bond and work as a team. The winning team received awesome certificates and legit bragging rights for the rest of forever. This was an awesome time!

Today Was The Day!

As I mentioned before, Carousel Day is the day when students who wish to be an RA are interviewed and evaluated. That day was today. We started bright and early at 7:45 and did not finish until almost 2. This may sound long and hard but it was a blast! It was great to have the opportunity to see several students express an interest in being part of Res Life. All of the candidates did a great job and we will know who was hired in about a weeks time. I look forward to what is in store!

Creativity

RA's are constantly having to come up with new ways to engage the residents on their halls. This can require a lot of creative thinking. It is easy to say that you are going to have an ice cream social every month but sooner, rather than later, that starts to get boring. So, as RA's we are encouraged to start thinking creatively and to try and come up with fun and interesting ways to interact with our residents. There are times when this can seem like a difficult task but after some brain storming and a little help from friends or other online resources the fun starts to begin. A good way to creatively plan is to have a nice mix of different programs. Doing things with your residents spontaneously is awesome and tends to have great results but you can also reach a larger audience by creating large hall events that will attract more residents. Regardless, once you get the hang of it everything is smooth sailing.

If you would like to here more about how to be creative with your hall, here is a link that has some great examples:http://www.residentassistant.com/resources/creativity.htm This site has several different tabs that you can choose that will lead you to great creative ideas!

The Roommate

Everybody knows that one of the most vital aspects of the college experience is the roommate. The majority of the time, individuals are placed with another incoming freshman that they have never met before and they are informed that they will be living together. Strange right. Well, as RA's it is our job to do all that we can to make this new transition as smooth as possible. We hand out roommate agreement forms that allow roommates to lay down ground rules for the room from the get go. RA's also initiated random events on the hall that allow the roommates to interact not only with each other but with the other people on the hall as well. Most importantly, RA's are around to help roommates solve conflicts and determine if they will still be a good fit for one another as roommates. It is cool to have the opportunity to work one on one with all of the guys on your hall and being able to help them in many ways other than just having events.

What Makes A Great RA?

Being an RA can be considered one of the most interesting and exciting jobs that someone could have during their time in college. With that in mind, you want to be an RA that is relatable and that people want to spend time with. So, what makes a great RA? There are several different factors that play into this role. You have to get a feel for your residents and the different things that they are interested in and you must have the personality that will allow you to interact with them so that you can figure out what they like. You also have to be willing to talk with your residents about more than just school work. Residents want an RA that is available and friendly. Even still, there are so many different factors that go into being a great RA and those can vary dependent upon the type of residents that you have.

For some other RA's answers to this question check out: http://www.residentassistant.com/advice/onekey.htm

Carousel Day

The time has come! Applications have been submitted, and it is time for the interviews. Carousel Day is when the current Res Life staff members interview the interested applicants and get a feel for the way that they will handle specific situations. This is the process that is used in determining who will be hired for the next year. This is a great way of creating a more relaxed and comfortable environment for the applicants. I look forward to what is going to be in store for this upcoming year as we make the decisions for who will be new on the staff.