Part 2: Why my experience as a Resident Advisor was more valuable than I thought
- Carlo Pezzana
- May 27, 2021
- 5 min read
As I previously talked about it, I was very satisfied with my first semester as a Resident Advisor. I built a fantastic community on my floor, had great relationships with my residents, and my two events went well. When talking to my supervisor about my goals for the following semester, I just wanted to strengthen those relationships with my residents. I did not oversee much new within my job experience. Well, when saying that, I did not consider two essential aspects: firstly, there is always a way to improve and foster innovation, and secondly, when you have a group of first-year students, it is the second semester, after that first adapting phase, in which students face challenges. It was my second semester as an RA indeed that taught me the most and also profoundly shaped me as an individual.
At the beginning of my semester, I surprised my residents by printing and hanging up on a new poster the group photo we previously took in December: they loved it! However, even before they came back from winter break, I was interning 16 hours every day for 2 weeks straight at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, taking place those first weeks of January. Because of it, I could not be present for my residents as I used to be, and since they were coming back from the break, they also had to check in with the university and, some of them, reactivate their school IDs. I told them I would have been very busy those weeks, but they could always reach out to me via phone. They understood, and it made me happy when every day I was coming back at 12 am, they were always in the hallway excited to see me and ask me questions about my internship. Some of them also positively complained that I was not there for them anymore. But it was a month later, after the end of my internship, one of the turning points of my year as a Resident Advisor. It was a Saturday at 2 am, and many of us in the penthouse (how we called the floor) were up. One of my residents, probably the one I knew the most, told me in an hour and a half conversation how thankful he was to me for the impact I made both as an RA and an individual. He told me I created a very healthy and positive environment on the floor and that I was always there to support the lacrosse boys whenever they needed me. As first-year students, the transition to college from high school was not easy, and he appreciated I helped them a lot in that aspect. The resident also referred to me how my personality shaped him and inspired him positively. That incredible moment made me reflect: despite my strong commitment to the job, I never thought a Resident Advisor could have impacted students that strongly. However, when you are a senior student and you supervise a group of freshmen (athletes on the same team), I believe they do need a guide on their first year away from home as independent adults.
Following that power of the moment, my enthusiasm for the job just kept rising and helped me to perform better. I became super attached to my residents, and I started to feel like a big brother, a teacher, and even a father sometimes (!). I wanted my residents to have the best experience at Lynn University (even more challenging due to the coronavirus restrictions).
I am unsure where and with who, but around February, I had a conversation about engagement builders, and I thought about a new idea that excited me: themed duties. A RA is required to perform multiple duty night shifts every month, walking around buildings making sure students were ok, and respecting the rules. Duties are also an excellent time for RAs to connect with residents since they must stay in their room during the entire shift, and sometimes it can be monotonous. Therefore, I thought about making duties more fun to engage with my residents and the whole building. Once/twice a month, I was giving out different and unique types of snacks to residents. Examples included Nutella Duty (the most successful one), Pizza Duty, Italy Duty, and more. Residents were excited to try new snacks and engage in multiple conversations. An average of 30 students showed up each time, which helped me increase that family feeling on the floor.
The life of an RA was not always that exciting, and I had some challenges to overcome. The most difficult aspect of the job is successfully handling that balance between student-staff member, which is not easy. Even my residents, in some situations they saw me more as a staff member rather than a student and vice-versa. I had to be careful with my behavior, as something negative would have been judged by my residents, and I would have lost credibility, similarly to a parent. I could call my residents friends, but since I was their supervisor, I still had to be careful.
Other challenges came up once the lacrosse season began. I did enjoy supporting the team every game, and they appreciated it a lot. Nonetheless, understandable conflicts came up. A challenging aspect of college is to find the right social balance. Students are with friends 24/7, and in a team, the athletes practice, compete, go to class, and live together. They see the same people every day at every hour of the day. If at the beginning of the spring semester, different groups within the floor understandably originated, conflicts between teammates formed. It has been hard to handle those issues and, on top of that, make sure the residents were following the rules. From those situations, between ups and downs, I improved my leadership skills, learned how to manage people, and strengthened my relationships with the residents.
By the end of the year, I was very satisfied with my job, and despite living in a small room with community bathrooms, I loved living in the penthouse, 3rd floor of the Trinity Residence Hall, with a fantastic group of people. I, as an Italian, and them as Americans, broke cultural barriers and opened our minds by living together. My residents also became great friends, and I hope to continue to stay in touch with them. Moreover, I did enjoy living on the same floor, but not under my direct supervision, with the adults soccer and tennis boys coming from all around the world. I made great friendships with them and developed a positive connection with each student on the floor. I am very thankful to the pro staff of Housing and Residence Life for the unique opportunity they gave to me, and the Rookie of the Year Award given to me by the other RAs (with whom I developed amazing connections with some of them) was a fantastic price & recognition (and collective achievement with my residents) to a successful year.
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