Kate Stuller
Applying for a resident assistant position is kind of like running for president. You sit in a room among some of the greatest on-campus leaders you will ever meet, who are involved in various clubs, organizations, research opportunities, internships and so on. They’re experienced. They’re knowledgeable. And they are confident in who they are and what they stand for.
You’ll introduce yourself to the professional or graduate staff member and current RA who will be interviewing you, and they’ll stare at you with hope that you know what you’re getting yourself into.
Do you know about the late nights spent waiting for EMTs to take your favorite resident away in a stretcher? You thought he was so good, so supportive of the laws you instilled in the hall. It was all a lie. Your heart breaks from disappointment, and you grow a few gray hairs.
Do you know about the long evenings with your staff spent arguing over when to host the community event? You had plans to take your first lady to Terrapin’s Turf that evening for her birthday, but now, you must sacrifice your love for the good of your people. You have no choice but to attend the Pancake Night. Argh!
Do you know that the walls you hid behind as a resident will fall down and crumble once you are elected as an RA? Privacy? Secrets? Those don’t exist in RA world. If elected, your residents will turn into nosy little members of the press (especially the freshmen). They’ll find that tweet from 2009 when you snorted a macaroni noodle up your nose, and they won’t let you live it down. They might even print pictures of it and cover the walls of your home with this humiliation.
They will swarm like Holmes and Watson to decipher who that blond guy is who seems to come to your room with snacks and homework quite often. And when you go out, they’ll notice that you’re not wearing your dirty casual Keds. They’ll want to know where you’re going. And they’ll know what time you come home.
And so you grow a few more gray hairs. The policies you create will be supported by half your nation and fought by the other half. You’ll be challenged and hated by many for simply doing your job, and suddenly that free room and board becomes a less-than-satisfying perk. What is life like outside of this dorm? What is a kitchen? What is a double-sized bed?
Consider these things before entering the interview, because the key to passing the RA interview is one simple truth: Do you really, truly, 100 percent want to commit to the position of resident assistant?
Because as soon as you are elected, you never stop being an RA. Members of your community are everywhere. They’re in the dining halls; they’re on McKeldin Mall; they go to parties; they go to sporting events; they’re in the toilet stall next you. You might not see them, but they can see you.
Your home suddenly becomes your place of work. Just because you’re in your pajamas, lying on your bed watching reruns of Glee and sobbing doesn’t mean you’re off the clock. Nothing hurts more than having to pause the scene when Finn is about to kiss Rachel for the first time because the toilet in the men’s bathroom won’t stop flushing.
But before you cry from fear, look around the room the day of your interview. Look at all the other students who are brave enough to compete with you. If you become an RA, some of these students will become your staff members — your future best friends who will endure the bad duties with you and laugh about them later. My best friends are RAs, my boyfriend is an RA, and my resident director is the greatest role model any college student could ask for.
Yes, the job can have its bad moments (writing people up is not something we enjoy), but it has a lot of good moments if you build the right environment. Having your residents hug you goodbye at the end of the school year and thank you for the time you wrote them a letter of recommendation, edited their paper, helped them find an on-campus job, encouraged them to audition for a capella or wiped their tears when their boyfriend dumped them really does make you feel accomplished.
So embrace that. Feel pumped. If you are brave enough to apply, then you already have confidence in yourself. Being a leader requires self-assurance. Know who you are, know your strengths and know how you will be an RA who not only did your job, but was also truly memorable.
