Fun on the Job: Obstacle Courses and Putt Putt with a Twist

Submitted by Ashlee Hellman, Resident Assistant, Mercyhurst College

I am an RA at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA. I am a Senior now and this is my second year being an RA to the freshmen women of Baldwin Hall.

I have two good stories for you!

Obstacle Courses

Last year, on the last day of RA training the whole staff went to a place called, Family First Sports Park. We did challenging obstacle courses where we had to work as a team to figure out how to solve the problem. I'll never forget holding tight to one another while my whole team had to fit on this tiny log! We also did rock climbing, which was really tough! It was at this place that we not only learned how to really work with one another and come to understand that we do need to rely on one another to get the problem fixed (Welcome to RA land!) but we also had a ton of fun!! We left sweaty, but we were laughing all the way home.

Putt Putt with a Twist

This year on the last day of RA training, we all went to a mini-golf course. The hall directors specially designed each hole to make them more challenging…we played blindfolded, backwards, anything you can think of. We also answered questions during the game. Example: "Who is the new academic building named after?" If you got the answer to the question right, you got a prize.

All this while playing putt-putt.

Again, it was a great team builder while really getting to know your staff. It also didn't hurt that I got the best score out of all my staff and won a 20-dollar gift certificate to our bookstore. Rock on!!!