Roompact's "Res Life Quick Tips" series highlights ideas and suggestions you can utilize in your residence life and education practice. Take a look through our past quick tips. And like that, the summer is over. Students and student staff will be back in the residence halls within a blink of an eye, ready to take... Continue Reading →
The Residence Life Professional’s Superpower? Transferable Skills
As my peers embarks on new, post-graduation adventures, I am left reflecting on my own academic and professional experiences from the last two years. Though I have one more year of school before I begin my formal job search, seeing my cohort finding new opportunities, I’ve begun to ponder how I can capitalize on my... Continue Reading →
The Higher Ed Grad School ROI: A Current Student’s Perspective
People always say, “Hindsight is 20/20,” but I don’t think I ever believed them until now. As I finish up my second of three years in grad school, I’ve continued to think about the time and resources I have invested in pursuing a master’s degree. While I don’t regret taking the past two years to... Continue Reading →
5 Tips for Res Life Professionals During RA Interviews
Like clockwork, every spring brings about Resident Assistant hiring season! It can be a hectic, but also a fun time to be in residence life. Seeing the optimism and hope of new RA candidates can be energizing, but the grind of interviewing can also be exhausting. If you get overwhelmed, take a minute to regroup... Continue Reading →
5 Things Res Life Professionals Should Keep in Mind When Setting New Semester Resolutions
Welcome to 2022 Roompact Readers! With every new year comes new resolutions, but as residence life professionals, we know that each semester is also an opportunity for new ideas and improvements. While the new year lends itself to refreshed inspiration, many New Year’s resolutions fall short by the end of the first month. Here are... Continue Reading →
“Third Thinging” Difficult Conversations in Residence Life
Even after a year as an assistant hall coordinator, difficult dialogues sometimes scare me. I attribute this fear to growing up in Iowa and my instinctual reflex of avoiding conflict at all costs, and its reinforcement through 23 years of “Iowa nice.” If you have not heard of “Iowa nice,” there are other midwestern variations... Continue Reading →
3 Res Life Quick Tips for Working with First Generation Students
Roompact's "Res Life Quick Tips" series highlights ideas and suggestions you can utilize in your residence life and education practice. Take a look through our past quick tips. While each institution defines what it means to be a first generation student differently, the overarching theme reflects an individual who is the first in their family... Continue Reading →
5 Quotes That Show Ted Lasso Would Make an Excellent Residence Director
As any residence director knows, there are ups and downs in our work, but building community and seeing our students grow and succeed provides an unparalleled fulfillment. In Apple TV’s original series, Ted Lasso, viewers can witness the achievements of the AFC Richmond team without the stakes of their normal residence hall responsibilities. With his... Continue Reading →
Returning to “Normal” – The Cost of COVID as a Live-In Staff Member
I’ve been putting off writing this article for a few days now. With econ tests, essays, presentations, and serving in an on-call duty rotation, one could say the pressure is high. Add in the remains of a global pandemic and what do you get? My second year of grad school. I think we are all... Continue Reading →
3 Res Life Quick Tips for a New RA
As a new RA, you are tasked with many competing demands and expectations from not only your academics, but your new colleagues and supervisor. When starting your new position, keep these three quick tips in mind for a successful and balanced transition to your new role. Remember, those around you want you to succeed! 1.... Continue Reading →
Reflections of an ACUHO-I Intern (Week 10): End of the Journey? Or the Beginning?
As I ruminate on my experience as Roompact’s Professional Development and Practice Intern, I look back on my time fondly. I spent the summer working on numerous projects including the creation of blog posts and podcasts, developing new employee onboarding and professional development activities that relate to our B Corp certification, and working through my... Continue Reading →
Reflections of an ACUHO-I Intern (Week 8): Is Working-From-Home Right For You?
After 8 weeks on the Roompact Team, I’d love to say that I’ve cracked the code of WFH ("Work from Home"), but I can’t say that that’s the case. Even with WFH experience in my last position and a year of online school, working a remote internship has posed a difficult transition to navigate. It’s... Continue Reading →
5 “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for Student Staff Training Around Intentional Conversations
Though Intentional Conversations are meant to be casual conversations between student staff and their residents, these chats still require some degree of training and preparation. While professional staff members work to create a lesson plan or Intentional Conversation guide that models the goals and desires of their residential curriculum, significant thought should also be put... Continue Reading →
Reflections of an ACUHO-I Intern (Week 4): What’s Next?
The past four weeks at Roompact have been a whirlwind. I started with new employee onboarding, have gotten to know the rest of the team, and am even getting settled into working on my own projects. With my beginner’s anxiety starting to dissipate, I return to the question, “What am I hoping to get out... Continue Reading →
Reflections of an ACUHO-I Intern (Week 1): New Beginnings
With one year of grad school under my belt, I set off to start my summer internship at Roompact. Beginning a graduate degree amidst a global pandemic is an experience in itself, so it only makes sense to continue this virtual learning of which I have become so accustomed to, with a remote internship. Roompact,... Continue Reading →