Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
When conversations about student loneliness and isolation come up, we often reach for the same culprit: phones. Students seem disconnected? Phones. Nobody is talking in the elevator? Phones. Attendance is down? Phones. Relationships feel shallower? You guessed it: It’s the phones. The appeal of this explanation is that it's simple, but the problem is that... Continue Reading →
“Is God real?” It’s a question students are already asking themselves, out loud and internally, even if not in those exact words. If you find yourself getting uncomfortable when presented with conversations about God, faith, religion, or belief systems, this blog post is for you. Let’s explore why we’re doing students a disservice by ignoring... Continue Reading →
If you’ve ever looked at a training agenda and thought, “We should probably throw in something interactive here,” you are in very good company. Residence life has long relied on the hope that if we scatter enough icebreakers and small group discussions throughout training– a name game here, a marshmallow tower there, and sharing fun... Continue Reading →
The involvement of parents in residence life is increasingly vital due to the structured upbringing of current students. As many students rely on parents for guidance, engaging them proactively enhances support networks and promotes student autonomy. Strategies include providing resources, setting expectations, and facilitating parent-student communication, fostering a collaborative environment.
Do you actually know how to have a 1-on-1 meeting? For most of us in residence life, one-on-one meetings with supervisees are built into the job. But when’s the last time you thought about how you’re doing them? Too often, we slap them on the calendar and call it “supervision,” when in reality, they’re structured... Continue Reading →
A tale as old as time! A supervisor asks, “How do you like to receive feedback?” and the supervisee confidently replies, “I prefer direct feedback.” Time passes, the supervisor provides that direct feedback, and suddenly, the supervisee is shocked, defensive, and hurt. Everyone leaves the conversation feeling a little worse for wear. Feedback is one... Continue Reading →
If you work in Residence Life, you’ve probably been at a family gathering or social event where someone asks, “So… what exactly do you do?” And then you find yourself trying to explain a job that somehow includes crisis response, student development, event planning, facilities management, counseling, and occasionally amateur plumbing. So, for everyone who... Continue Reading →
Residence life supervisors spend a lot of time and energy supporting staff who are struggling, and rightfully so. But you can’t forget about the anchors of your team. You know, the ones who turn things in early, show up to every event, and volunteer before you even finish the sentence? That’s right, I’m talking about... Continue Reading →
There isn’t a guidebook for firing an RA. I mean, there are usually work rules, job descriptions, and an HR department that lead us to the decision. But none of that will prepare you for the human side, like how it feels to deliver the news, how to cope afterward, and how to move forward... Continue Reading →
We gather here today to mourn the inbox. What started as a tool to manage communication has become a never-ending graveyard of emails. Let’s have a moment of silence for the unread messages, the reply-all disasters, and the ones “marked as high importance,” that make you question the average person’s sense of urgency. You know... Continue Reading →
Blank stares. Awkward transitions. Forced ice breakers. A general air of dread. If that sounds like your training sessions or staff meetings, you’re probably not alone. Every year, thousands of residence life professionals roll into a new academic cycle with PowerPoints, printouts, and prayers as they facilitate these. While some chaos is to be expected,... Continue Reading →
You say you’re just being supportive. Available. Helpful. You tell yourself it’s what good leaders do. But when you zoom in, your staff treats GroupMe like a lifeline, you check your email like its social media, you’re one RA’s missed deadline away from crashing out. This blog post is for the supervisors who feel themselves... Continue Reading →
You’ve got the inside jokes, flexible deadlines, and quick-wit in the group chat. You’re relatable, approachable, and your RAs like you… but are you actually supervising? Supervising students is more than just being fun or chill. It’s about co-creating relationships that foster guidance, support, and accountability. By avoiding true supervision in the name of being... Continue Reading →
Picture this: the halls are closed, your end-of-year report is done, and students have departed for summer. This feeling is right around the corner! Even if you’re heavily involved in orientation, camps and conferences, or preparing for training, the beginning of summer has a way of getting residence life professionals to reflect, rest, and dream... Continue Reading →
If I could time travel and talk to my impassioned-undergraduate-student-leader-self, I think she would be pretty pleased with how things look on paper. With almost a decade of experience at various institutions across the country, I’ve worked hard to become a successful mid-level residence life professional, which puts me right on track to become a... Continue Reading →
