By Erin Brown
To all the returning RAs out there, welcome back and congratulations – you made it through at least a semester of staff meetings, on call nights, bulletin boards, and programming. You worked on building community, developing yourself through 1:1s and programs, and showing up as a leader to your area. You’re getting the hang of everything, and some parts of the job might feel easy now. However, whether you’ve been here one year, three years, or more (I see you, graduate-level RAs), at some point in time you’ve probably had the thought: “Do I really need to keep doing all of this?”
Maybe you’ve wondered if the work you’re still doing matters, especially administrative tasks or repetitive projects. Maybe this is how you’re feeling as you read this. I’ve felt that before too, and of course the answer I’m going to give you is yes, it absolutely matters. But by itself that wouldn’t be very motivational of me, so instead let’s talk about why those repetitive or small tasks have the biggest impact.
One of the unexpected and tough things about being a returner RA is that you have enough experience to coast. You know your supervisor’s style, what their response will likely be to different situations, and what you can get away with. You know you can do the job just fine, but here’s the question: is “fine” good enough?
If you’re nearing burnout, fine is fantastic. But “fine” shouldn’t be the lasting and continuous standard. Let’s do some prep work so the burnout doesn’t catch you, and so you can have an involved and successful semester on your floor.
Culture of Care
When residents walk into a building and feel seen, welcomed, and safe, that doesn’t happen by accident. That takeaway comes from your intentional efforts, from visually ‘big’ things like programs to small things like saying hello on rounds or making a holiday-themed door dec. All these steps over time tell a resident “You belong here, we value you, and we’re always here to help.”
The most important thing to remember is that care is cumulative. Even if your move-in day meeting is fantastic and you greet everyone individually, you can’t stop there. We all have the equivalent of a video game health bar for belonging, and one event or community builder isn’t going to keep your residents’ bar full. It takes constant effort and action to keep spirits high. Even if residents don’t say anything (and they often don’t, though it’s not ill-intended), they can see and appreciate effort. You may never know how a silly “Fun Facts About Your RA!” board helped a nervous student feel like less of an outsider, or how a door dec with someone’s preferred name made them feel accepted and welcomed. Being intentional with your care is always worth it, even if you don’t see all the ripples your work makes.
Breaking a Cycle
If you’ve been hands-off for a semester or more, it could feel silly or performative to jump back into being a mega-involved RA. I understand where you’re coming from, and I would encourage you to channel that energy from wanting to do something big and bold to instead, planning out the whole semester. Sit down with a printed calendar and schedule your 1:1s, meetings, programs, as well as planning and advertising time frames. This will allow you to consistently show up for residents without feeling like you have to keep measuring up to one big event.
Here’s a challenge I hope you accept: instead of asking “Do I have to?” ask yourself “How can I do this better than last time?” and “What would I want to see if I was my resident?” When you can frame your role as an RA as a chance to continually grow rather than a recycled checklist, you open the door for purpose and intentionality to walk in. Here are five ways to get you back on your A-game:
1. Rediscover your “Why” – Why did you become an RA? Why pick this campus job, instead of countless others? And if that ‘why’ isn’t cutting it anymore, explore your answer to “Why does the RA role itself matter?” and see what resonates with you.
2. “Borrow” ideas from peers – all the best art and ideas are stolen from someone else. If you see a great program idea or bulletin board style, there’s no shame in trying it out! It’s best to ask that RA before you mimic or adapt something they came up with, and it’s easy to frame it like a compliment when you ask.
3. Add a personal touch – Show your residents you’re a person, too! Add polls or jokes to your boards, share your hobbies and interests, or start a hall tradition. Traditions don’t need to be serious; they should just be something residents enjoy that’s unique to you. One of the RAs on my staff has residents who started a ‘tribute box,’ where residents donate miscellaneous items (including bananas) to appease the RA/floor god. If it works, it works!
4. Set a timer – If nothing else, start a 15-minute timer and focus on one task that needs to get done. A lot of program planning or hall theme research can happen in a small amount of time, and it’ll get the wheels turning when you feel stuck.
5. Ask for feedback – Give your residents at least one outlet for feedback and ask your peers and supervisor for help if you need a push. If they don’t have notes for improvement, ask what new ideas they’d like to see, or find a campus partner you haven’t worked with before.
Now, you might be part of a staff where the culture is to coast, or your supervisor is disengaged. There will always be someone putting in less effort than you, or less effort than you think they should. (That’s a separate article for a separate time.) It doesn’t matter what your peers are working on; not your farm, not your chickens. What we need to focus on is how you can show up for your residents and yourself as the best version of you. You can be the person who breaks a cycle and sets an example for your residents. Be the RA who brings energy and intention, even when it’s not easy.
Keep Going, and Give Yourself Applause
To wrap up, I want to be clear that doing this job well doesn’t mean perfection. It means effort, intention, and integrity. You don’t have to be the loudest or the busiest to make a difference. If even one resident sees you genuinely showing up, treating them with kindness, and caring about your role and hall, you’ve already had an impact.
Most of your best work will happen without applause, which makes it even more important to recognize and value your own efforts. Do work you’re proud of. Work you can look back on and know mattered. So, do you really need to keep doing all of this? Yes, but not because it’s on a checklist. You have experience now, and this is where experience turns into impact. You’re not starting from scratch; you’re building on a foundation that you created. Lock back in, bring your intention with you, and keep going. Your residents are better off because of the care and effort you bring every day.
Erin Brown (she/her/hers) is a Residence Life Coordinator at Colorado School of Mines, overseeing a first-year hall. Erin completed her B.A. and M.S.Ed. at the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2021 and 2022, respectively. She became an RA during her freshman year of college and after graduating moved to Colorado to work as a Resident Director. In her work, Erin most enjoys RA training, move in, and being someone residents can stop by to talk to anytime. She also loves cozy video games, photography, and spending time with her partner.
