Trueblood: A few words from your friendly neighborhood RA

Hello UNL student! I hope you are enjoyed the warm summer sun and a well-deserved break from school. As the summer progresses I'm sure you're anxious about gathering your dorm room essentials as you anticipate the big day: move in day. It's an exciting and hectic day as students far and wide fill the parking lots and lanes, unloading their cars and hoping they are at the right dorm. It can be frustrating waiting forever for the elevator, but have some patience and try not to get too upset with your parents; they're only trying to help. You might feel lame having them help you move in, but you'll appreciate not having to haul all the stuff you don't need all by yourself.

Once you finally get moved into your room make sure you scope out the floor and find the door marked "Resident Assistant." This door will probably have a welcome sign and name tags all over or around the door bearing the name of your RA. This person will play a key role in your transition to life at UNL and is someone you want to make sure you get to know.

 What is a Resident Assistant you might be wondering? Well, each residence hall floor or wing has one live-in student staff member who is responsible for developing programs and activities for the floor and hall. The RA's goal is to build a positive and welcoming floor community and serve as a resource for your many questions and problems you might face as a new resident in a college environment. RAs are also responsible for enforcing policies and ensuring the safety of residents. 

I became an RA this past year and I've really enjoyed the role. I did my best to learn the names of all 48 of my residents and made sure they all felt welcome and comfortable approaching me with questions or issues. The first few times I smiled and said hello to my residents they seemed a little shy or unsure of who I was or why I was so friendly. I hoped to quickly establish my role as not only someone responsible for the floor, but also a friend they could trust and hang out with or ask for advice.

Being a junior, I had some significant college experience that I was happy to pass on to my residents. I tried to offer helpful study tips from my experience and information about campus resources. I also tried to keep residents well-informed of events around campus and important dates they needed to know (make sure you pay attention to signs around the elevator and in the bathroom; that's where many RAs post stuff you need to know!).

An essential part of my job is getting to know my residents. It is important for me to know the needs of my residents so I can try to meet their needs and offer whatever assistance I can. When some of my residents were having issues with their roommates, they came to me for advice about what to do. Keep your RA in mind whenever you have conflicts with your roommate of any kind. Although your RA will encourage you to sort it out on your own, your RA is there to mediate and help you reach an agreement, so don't be afraid to ask for help!

Part of my role as an RA also consists of being there for a resident who is dealing with personal problems. Although I wasn't trained to be a counselor, I am able to at least listen to my residents and offer them some support. As an RA, I don't have all the answers, but I do care about my residents and know who to go to if the resident needs more help than I can give. If you are ever facing a tough personal issue, don't hesitate to approach your RA. Your RA should be someone you can trust and talk to about anything and someone who wants to help you.

 Although a large part of my job is about being friendly with residents and gaining their trust, I am also responsible for enforcing policies and procedures to ensure residents' safety. Understand that your RA isn't trying to be mean when he or she tells you to stop playing football in the hall or asks you to keep it down during quiet hours; they are just doing their job.

      One of the biggest policy enforcements RAs encounter is alcohol. For some reason some students think it is cool to drink in their dorm room. Be forewarned: this is never, ever cool and will make your RA dislike you. If you think you're being sneaky and that your RA will never catch you, think again. RAs have surprisingly sensitive ears and can hear bottles clanking and other suspicious noises through the doors. If you do have alcohol in your room and your RA knocks and asks to enter, don't hesitate to open the door. The more you cooperate with your RA the better off you'll be. Also, your RA is the least of your worries. Once you get busted you also have to deal with the Residence Director, who is usually even more "mean" than your RA. Just a heads-up.

Remember that although your RA is a floor leader and responsible for many aspects of the floor, your RA is also a full-time student. Your RA is here to help you, but do your best to help out your RA as well. You can make his or her job easier by respecting quiet hours, not taking furniture from the lounges, and abiding by housing policies. Since RAs are in charge of planning floor events on top of everything else they're involved in, we really appreciate it when residents offer to help organize programs and hang posters. Your assistance builds good rapport with your RA and may even help you land an RA job of your own. We also really like it when you come to our floor events. We put a lot of work into our events and we plan them just for you, so make sure you attend them. It makes us happy and feel like we haven't wasted our time.

So hopefully you now have a better understanding of your RA's role and the ways he or she can assist you. Once you understand the RA's role, you might even want to consider being one yourself. The RA position is a great opportunity to grow socially and professionally by working with a variety of individuals. The job has introduced me to many interesting people and has helped develop my leadership skills and interpersonal abilities. I feel much more confident than I did my freshman year and I find great satisfaction in helping new students transition and feel comfortable on campus.