Life as an RA: What They Do and Why It Matters
Moving into the dorms? Resident assistants like Aimee Harling are here to help, supporting new students throughout their first year and building community on campus.
Moving into a dorm for the first time can be a little scary. A brand-new environment, new people, and new routines are all daunting, especially when they come all at once in your first few days and weeks of college.
Luckily, there is someone whose job is to help you through all of it. Resident assistants, or RAs, are second-, third-, or fourth-year students who live in the residence halls and serve as mentors to students in their first year living on campus.
Aimee Harling knows all about it. The junior marketing and business analytics, major, who was an RA in Centennial Halls last year, sat down with the DU Newsroom to chat about what it’s like to be an RA and what first-year students can expect when they come to campus.
As an RA, what do you do on a daily basis?
Students can come to us if they need help with anything from finding resources to resolving roommate conflicts. On a day-to-day basis, there isn’t too much going on besides saying “Hi” to residents that you see in the hallways and connecting with them. When we are on call, we have to do rounds twice a night, just to check on everyone in the building and make sure everything is okay.
Why did you decide to become an RA and what is the experience like?
Honestly, a big thing for me was the financial benefits, as food and housing is paid for. However, I did also feel like it was a great way to give back to my community. I really loved my RA my freshman year and loved knowing that they were there to support me when I needed it. I wanted to be able to do the same for incoming students.
What kind of training do RAs go through before the school year starts?
There’s a two-week training before school starts to go over things like writing incident reports, learning how to respond to certain situations, and getting to know your fellow RAs.
What are some of the most common questions or concerns students come to you with?
Some of the questions that I have gotten are things like how to get a job on campus, when housing applications open, where they can find certain things, like other resources on campus, and questions about meal plans.
How do you help build community on your floor or within your residence hall?
One of the things we do as RAs is plan floor events. These can be anything from a movie night to a trip to the farmer's market. These events are a great way to get to know the other people in your residence hall and the people on your floor.
What happens when there’s a conflict between roommates or neighbors?
It depends on the situation, but usually it starts with one or both concerned parties coming to the RA to bring up an issue that they have. The RA will then sit down with the two of them and walk through the roommate agreement that residents sign when they first move in to see if that can help resolve the issue. If not, there can be amendments made to the agreement, or the issues can be passed on to supervisors and they will help resolve the conflict.
What resources do you often recommend and how do you help students access them?
Some common resources are the (HCC), (PCO), and (HRE). As far as supporting them in accessing those resources, I make sure to give them any contact information and directions to each of those offices. I also offer to escort students there. Then the biggest thing is following up with that resident afterward to make sure they got the help they needed.
What’s one thing you wish every first-year student knew about living in the residence halls?
I wish everyone knew that no one is friends when you first move in. I think that it can be a little overwhelming when you first move in, because it seems like a lot of people might know each other already. I would say to try your best to put yourself out there and meet the people living near you at least for the first week. Really just make the best of it!
How do you balance being a student and an RA at the same time?
It took some getting used to, but the thing that I found the most helpful was keeping an organized calendar—to make sure that I had everything in one place and wouldn’t fall behind on schoolwork or with the things that I needed to do as an RA.
Do you have a favorite memory or moment from your time as an RA?
One of my favorite memories was from a game night that I hosted on one of my floors. I had about seven residents show up, and we all played Cards Against Humanity for a couple of hours. So fun!
For more information about RAs, living in the dorms, and the first-year campus living experience, visit the website.
