Resident assistants are more than just students with an authoritative title. RAs are friends, mentors and above all else, students, said current RAs Jose Arujo and Ryan Kennelly. Araujo said RAs exist to provide a secure and welcoming environment for residents, as well as to aid in the transition from home to college life. They also help with any problems or concerns residents have and will always lend an ear to anyone who needs it.
Three RAs from different Residence Halls talk about their experiences.
Jose Araujo, an RA for Stevenson Wing at Wallace Residence Center
Araujo is a sophomore majoring in biology. He is the RA for Borah Hall, an all-male living community within Wallace.
Araujo said he became an RA because it allows him to work with students. He said that he wanted to be a better RA than the one he had when he was a freshman.
“My RA was great, but we just didn’t make that connection,” Araujo said.
He described being an RA is a boundary between being a friend, but also being strict about guidelines and policies.
“I think it is hard, but it is definitely possible,” Araujo said.
The best part of being an RA for Araujo was creating programs for residents to learn about other parts of the university.
He said the best way to talk to an RA is to just do it. Don’t only talk to an RA when you need help and when they are at the door. Get to know them as they are people because they were a freshman once.
Ryan Kennelly, an RA at Theophilus Tower
Kennelly is a sophomore majoring in operations management, marketing and accounting. He is currently the RA of the third floor of Theophilus Tower, which is one of the floors making up Neely Hall.
Kennelly said he became an RA to make a difference among first-year students and being an RA has given him that opportunity. He said his best experience has been seeing the impact he and his partners have had on people.
First-year students can be under the impression that RAs are scary authority figures, but Kennelly said they should not be scared because RAs are all fairly friendly.
“We are friends, first and foremost,” Kennelly said. “We are here for you, to help you, so let us do that.”
Kennelly said being an RA can be described as life changing, opportunity and uplifting.
“I have gotten more out of it than I thought I would,” Kennelly said. “It is uplifting. I don’t know why, it’s just that I’m happy here.”
Noel Hathaway, an RA for Willey Wing at Wallace Resident Center
Hathaway is majoring in plant and bio technology. He is currently a sophomore and is the RA for the second floor of the Willey Wing in Wallace.
Hathaway said he wanted to be an RA, because he didn’t want first-year students to have the same experience he had as freshman. He said he could do a better job than what his RA did for him.
Hathaway said his best experience as an RA is watching his community flourish. He enjoyed watching relationships being built between residents, working with other RAs to make things happen and seeing people go to the programs he worked on.
“The biggest thing to remember (about RAs) is we were freshmen just like you,” Hathaway said. “Almost all of us came in with the intentions of helping residents enjoy their time here at the university.”
Hathaway described his experience as being stressful in that there are many things to take care of, but he said it is satisfying to see communities start to form and come together.
“As a whole, I am just really thankful that I had the opportunity to take this job,” Hathaway said.
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected]