Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
For many student staff members, receiving golf cart access feels like a milestone. One day you're carrying supplies across campus by hand, and the next youโre behind the wheel of a university vehicle, headed to a program setup or responding to a lockout. While golf carts may not seem like a big deal at first,... Continue Reading →
Door decorations and bulletin boards are more than check-the-box tasks; they are often the first impression residents have of their community. In this episode of Roompact's RA*Chat,, we sit down with a Nikki Garcia to explore how RAs can create intentional, engaging, and meaningful visuals that go beyond aesthetics. From planning timelines to interactive strategies,... Continue Reading →
Youโre walking down the hall in your building when you see a group of your freshman residents โcovertlyโ rushing a case of beer into their room. And for a second or two, a lot of RAs and student staff arenโt solely thinking about policy. Theyโre thinking: โWhy me?โ, โWhy would they do that?โ, and โMan,... Continue Reading →
May is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. It is a time when conversations around wellness, balance, and self-care become more visible. As student staff, you likely can easily list approaches for supporting mental health. Strategies such as sleep, boundaries, exercise, connection, and mindfulness. Youโve probably discussed these in training sessions or workshops. The challenge... Continue Reading →
As a Residence Life student staff member, stepping into a summer role can feel like a completely different job. The structure of the academic year fades, and residence halls quickly fill with new faces, expectations, and a faster pace. For anyone who has not experienced summer on campus before, it can feel overwhelming at first,... Continue Reading →
On March 29, 2026, with ten seconds left on the clock, University of Connecticut (UConn) menโs basketball team was trailing Duke by three points in the Elite Eight. (If youโre not a sports person, stay with me. Itโll make sense soon). Silas Demray Jr. from UConn made one of two free throws knocking the lead... Continue Reading →
This episode of RA*Chat features insights from Tim Turner, offering advice to help RAs navigate move-out with confidence and care. From handling damage-related conversations and conducting thorough room checks to managing residents' emotions, Tim emphasizes the importance of clear communication, accomplishments, and getting support from peers and supervisors. He also shares strategies for managing stress during this busy season while still creating a positive and supportive closing experience for residents.
Consider a scenario in which you require guidance, support, or a professional recommendation from your supervisor. Despite working closely with them, you recognize that your relationship has remained largely transactional. This realization highlights the importance of intentionally developing that connection before it becomes necessary. Why This Matters It is important to acknowledge that most of... Continue Reading →
Post-spring break, hopefully you came back refreshed. Some of your residentsโฆ did not. Across campuses, the weeks leading up to finals see a surge of roommate and suitemate conflicts. Thereโs a tipping point as students hit their stress limit: stress builds, burnout sets in, and small issues start to feel much bigger. As an RA... Continue Reading →
The phrase โstudent leaderโ is not new to the higher education landscape. It has been used to describe students who are involved with student government, recognized student organizations, fraternity and sorority life, and of course, housing and residence life. Oftentimes, the student leaders in housing and residence life hold multiple positions in various organizations across... Continue Reading →
If youโre applying to be housing staff - whether as an RA, HA, CA, or another resident support role, youโre probably trying to figure out what the process is really looking for. Thereโs often pressure to give the โrightโ answers in applications or interviews, to appear polished, experienced, and fully prepared. It can feel like... Continue Reading →
Roompact's bulletin board competition is now closed and we're ready to announce the winners. We received over 130 entires (!), so picking ten was incredibly difficult. Some boards did an excellent job at educating residents, while others were just beautiful! We tried to select a diverse group of winners that reflected the diversity of the... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's RA*Chat, join Da Zhaneโ Sinclair for advice when everything goes wrong in the middle of the night, and how you respond. This episode dives into the high-pressure reality of on-call life, unpacking how to make quick, confident, and policy-aligned decisions when it matters most for students! From managing emergencies to navigating resident conflict, we explore strategies to stay calm, think clearly, and lead effectively even at 2 AM.
When being hired/re-hired as a live-in student leader, there is one big question that most student leaders think about: โWhere am I going to live?โ First, Iโd like to share my personal experience with this: The first time I applied to be a Community Advisor (CA, often called an RA), it was exciting to apply... Continue Reading →
It's August and all the RAs are creating their door decorations from their floor rosters. Just lists of names with no faces or descriptions to go with them. Like the participants of Love is Blind, they are hopeful they will find people they connect with, sight unseen. The RAs start to imagine what their floors... Continue Reading →
Every year, during Interview Week, I find myself having the same conversation with my returning RAs who are helping interview the next cohort. Usually, it happens at the table in between interviewing the candidates. Iโll smile and say something like, โFull circle, huh?โ Just a year or two ago, they were the ones nervously sitting... Continue Reading →
The title of this article may have you a little confused, however student leaders in housing have responsibilities that can be compared (and maybe even confused with) what winter olympians are up to. Take this quiz to see if you are able to distinguish if itโs a description of a Resident Assistant (RA) doing their... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's RA*Chat, we sit down with Jose Rivera to break down how to distinguish typical roommate conflict from situations that require higher-level intervention. The conversation covers documentation best practices, referrals, collaboration with professional staff, and how to balance empathy with policy enforcement. Especially in complex, real-world situations, RAs like you face on the job.
