~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ So if youโre anything like me, these past few months have been a bitโฆstressful at best. Thereโs nothing quite like the crushing reality of having to now either get a job or go back to more school, with graduation caps and uncertainty looming in the distance.... Continue Reading →
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work (Even if the Dream is just Survival)
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ As the year plugs on, and a staff feels more comfortable, the list of challenges changes from introducing yourself and getting to know your coworkers to how to maintain a strong work environment and contrary to popular beliefโnot getting too comfortable! Maybe youโre really good friends... Continue Reading →
Reconnecting After Break: Building a Better Community in the New Semester
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Oh joy, you made it through the first semester. Hopefully it went well, and hopefully you were able to build relationships with your residents, and they were able to build relationships with each other. That being said, the Spring semester can be completely different than the... Continue Reading →
When Residents are More than Residents
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Determining the line between being friends and friendly with your residents is a vital part of being a resident assistant. However there may be times when you have a pre-existing relationship with a resident, or you develop a closer relationship with a resident over time. This... Continue Reading →
How to Have Those Tough Conversations: Dealing with Controversy as an RA
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Everyone has their own perspective. With different values, opinions, and backgrounds, itโs reasonable that some topics are difficult to discuss without descending into madness. Whether itโs a topic such asโฆa heated national election for example, maintaining civil dialogue is important, and especially so on a university... Continue Reading →
RA Interventionโฆ With Good Intentions?
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Quick, think of the worst policy-related incident you can respond to. Chances are, some event like a massive dorm party or maybe a vandalism event came to mind. These, however, have nothing on the more emotional side of the job. Such as, when is it proper... Continue Reading →
Yay! How to Build Excitement about Residential Curriculum, Resident Engagement, and Learning
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Iโm sure we all (student staff and professional staff alike) have our fair share of opinions and stories regarding a residential curriculum (or RC, sometimes called a residential learning or engagement model). Some love it, and some not so much. But why? The educational/programmatic model has... Continue Reading →
From Hall to Home: Identifying Homesick Residents and Helping them to Adjust
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Adapting to university life is a challenge every incoming freshman faces. Exciting times as a new adult, with a new sense of independence can be seen as a positive, however they come with newfound responsibilities which often leave someone lonely. An RAโs job is therefore even... Continue Reading →
From Panic to Planโฆ Crisis Mitigation Strategies for RAs and Student Staff
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ The thought of a looming crisis can be daunting for any RA or student staff member. We all know that all-too-familiar sinking feeling as the duty phone starts ringing. No matter how confident one might be before an incident, in an emergency, having a clear-cut plan... Continue Reading →
Thriving and Surviving: Welcome to Being an RA
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Chances are, if youโre reading a blog post preparing for being an RA before you have even started training, your mind is probably already in the right place. That being said, you might want to know a few tips, tricks, and strategies to help you get... Continue Reading →
Balancing Life as an RA with School: Tips and Tricks
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Balancing the responsibilities of being an RA with the often overwhelming demands of academic life can be a challenging endeavor. Being an RA comes with unique duties and expectations, while your work at school often requires substantial time and focus...sometimes too much. This can be a... Continue Reading →
Resident Connections: Going Beyond a Simple Chat
~ Blog Posts Written By RAs for RAs ~ Anyone who has worked in residential life, from student staff to professional staff of all levels, have most likely come across training and strategies regarding students and how to build connections with them, but how effective are they really? Here, the fundamental aspects of a resident... Continue Reading →



