By Danielle Jones
Becoming an RA for the first time is an exciting time. There are many possibilities of what the future may hold and the impact one may get to have on their residents. However, returning as an RA can sometimes bring challenges. With a year or two of experience, returning may feel draining. Returning may feel like there is nothing more to learn, no reason for new excitement, and it also may feel like there is no choice if there is a financial need. As a returner, you might find yourself in a slump. Returning RAs are seldom looking for advice and often find themselves giving it but that does not mean I do not have advice for returning RAs.
My biggest piece of advice to returning RAs is to remember who you are outside of the RA position.
I am sure my advice goes against the age-old teaching of “you live in a fishbowl, you’re always an RA!” If you were told this by me or by another good intentioned professional, allow me to be the first to say: I am sorry we put that expectation on you. Being an RA is a large role and it is amazing but it is a student leadership opportunity that will eventually end and when it does, you must remember yourself. You must remember what brings you joy and makes you excited.
Whether being an RA is considered a job or a student leadership position, it should not be the only activity you allow yourself to hold. Your institution may have guidelines around how many other activities you are permitted to be involved in as an RA but that should not stop you from doing something that is solely for you. Whether you are a creative or a gamer or someone who loves sports, you must hold onto what grounds you and is uniquely yours.
As a college student, it is so easy to put too much on your plate or to put nothing on your plate and solely focus on academics. There must be a balance and that balance should be role modeled by RAs. RAs are student leaders who have been trusted to guide residents in the right direction. Your residents do take note of what you do and they look to you for guidance even if they do not say it outright, so it is important to consider what you are presenting to them. Are you presenting to them someone who never rests and pushes through even when they are sick? Are you presenting to them someone who is never present and is uninterested in them? Are you presenting to them someone who is available 24/7 and chooses their RA responsibilities over everything else? Or are you presenting to them someone who is clear about their availability, has outside interests, and has not let being an RA consume their every free moment?
I was an RA, a head RA, a graduate hall director, a coordinator, and am now an Assistant Director. I saw being an RA as a way to help pay for school and never expected my life to take the path it took. In all of these positions, I have found that the happiest RAs, the ones who persist in the role while continuing to make meaningful connections with residents, are the ones who allow themselves to be wholly themselves. They are the RAs who share their interests with residents while maintaining their own identity. They are the RAs who have found a way to connect the position to what they love but do not let the position consume them. They are the RAs who have hobbies and interests to turn to when the role is heavy.
Thank you for returning as an RA. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with the new RAs on your staff. Thank you for helping your supervisors through a variety of situations. But do me one favor, refuse to allow yourself to fall into the “returner slump” by remembering who you are when the RA hat comes off. Take care of that person the same way you take care of your residents.They deserve it.
