From Bleeker Street to Wall Street:
How Invaluable Skills Learned in Residence Life Transfer to the Real World

By Andrew Murtha, Investment Risk Analyst

It is 8:30am, the start of another day; a new week of work. In the world’s financial capital, people sip their second cup of coffee, browse through the Wall Street Journal, eagerly anticipating the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The chorus of screeching subway brakes leads the way to the World Trade Center. I depart from the train and join the thundering herd of humanity up the escalators in this ritual otherwise known as rush hour. It is a familiar routine, one in which I arrive at my office and immediately hit the ground running.

Messages to return, reports to run, accounts to analyze, and an untimely broken printer, signal the start of another challenging, unpredictable day. It sounds like just another manic Monday, but having been through similar situations before in the dynamic world of University, allows me to feel a minimal amount of stress

My experiences as a member of the Rutgers University- Newark Housing staff have helped greatly and sometimes unexpectedly in my capacity to work at my full potential and enjoy what I do. Being a financial analyst at a New York investment firm is demanding and requires the ability to juggle several different tasks at once. I’m responsible for making sure our portfolio managers have adhered to the investment restrictions of our clients and for performing several other risk management analyses on a daily basis. In short, there are several time sensitive tasks, which must be completed in a short period of time. This requires the ability to handle multiple tasks and to do a good job with each one of them.

Fortunately these are challenges I’m quite familiar with having experienced the responsibility of being a Resident Assistant (RA). RAs take on the often-burdensome role of the student-leader. Responsibilities include developing programs, attending meetings, giving recommendations to RA aspirants, resolving conflicts, among a variety of tasks, in addition to being a regular student. Choosing to play numerous roles on campus forced me to become an excellent time manager in order to accomplish everything I wanted to do, both as a student and as an RA. This extremely valuable skill has certainly transferred over to my current job. It takes focus and discipline to be able to handle the multiple tasks I’m responsible for. I’m able to effectively assess the needs of the task at hand, and work in a focused manner to fulfill those needs in order to accomplish the task. This is one skill I owe largely to my experience as an RA.

In addition to versatility and time management, the need for flexibility is a major part of my position. Often I receive notice to run a report or perform an analysis immediately for an urgent situation or client request. I then have to put aside whatever I’m doing and shift gears on a new project. This can be frustrating especially if I’m making concrete progress on the project I was initially working on.

The art of flexibility is one of the most difficult skills to develop as an RA. Throughout my years in residence life, as many RAs could identify with, I was constantly asked to shift gears at the request of residents, RA colleagues, directors, and security staff. There was no choice. It was my duty to respond to these surprises. After setting down the midterm notes and wiping the pretzel crumbs off my shirt, it was time to focus on doing what I was there to do; helping the residents. Resolving roommates issues, helping a resident with an upcoming Math exam, and loaning out a vacuum (which may or may not have worked) took precedence over whatever I was doing or whatever plans I had made. Along the same lines, today I have to re-focus on doing what I’m hired to do; helping our clients and the organization.

I never knew when the next surprise request for help would come, but I always knew that one such request was around the corner. Over time these surprises weren’t even surprises, but instead something I was used to, prepared for, and confident enough to handle. Experiencing so many unanticipated situations, significantly improved my patience and flexibility. Whenever I’m asked to fulfill an urgent request at work, I take a deep breath, put aside what I’m working on, and accept the request with a smile. Of course, it’s not always easy to drop what you’re doing when focused on the task at hand. But it’s important to keep in mind that someone may need your guidance much more urgently, and that takes precedence over the current task.

In the world of business, building relationships is one of the most important things. It is essential to take advantage of every opportunity to meet and learn about people both inside and outside of your company. In the competitive environments of most business sectors, those who get ahead are often those who know the right people. You never know who may present you with a job opportunity or whom you may be able to help out. Having strong interpersonal skills is the key aspect of relationship building. As an RA I was responsible for meeting and learning about my residents, introducing residents to one another, and developing a strong community in a very diverse student population. This helped me develop strong interpersonal skills and the confidence to meet and talk with anyone. The outstanding staff I had the opportunity to work with enhanced this skill tremendously, as it takes a large team effort to develop strong community. I’ve been fortunate to be able to transfer those teamwork and community facilitation skills to my current position. Relationship building skills are vital for virtually any job and I’m grateful to have attained this skill, through my residence life staff experience.

The value of networking is priceless in the business world just as it is in the world of housing and residence life. That chemistry whiz you met in the cafeteria may be able to help out your struggling resident who is trembling over next week’s exam. That University official could help you pull-off your next amazing program. That resident in Room C may find your contact in Health Services to be very helpful. The bottom line is that you never know when relationship building or any of the numerous other RA related skills could help yourself or a friend during and after your time as an RA.

The walkway to my apartment complex reminds me of the one on Bleeker Street, where I was an RA, as I hustle back from a long day at work to catch the 7:30 episode of Seinfeld. In the elevator, an exhausted woman stands with her son. I ask her how her day was and received the expected "It was long" reply. I could tell she had a bad day. As the elevator crept upward (much faster than the ones on Bleeker Street) we continued the small talk. I made a jocular remark about the weather or something causing her to let out a huge smile and chuckle. As she got off the elevator, she thanked me for making her day. It was a small, yet meaningful moment. Sometimes it’s the little stuff that makes you appreciate everything you learned as an RA.

About The Author

Andrew Murtha is currently working with an investment firm in downtown Manhattan as an Investment Risk Analyst. He recently graduated from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Management’s MBA program where he concentrated in Finance and Marketing. He also received a BA in Economics from Rutgers University. Andrew spent two years as a Resident Assistant and one year as an Assistant Resident Director on the Newark campus of Rutgers University. He was also a member of the University’s men’s volleyball team. He is originally from the Buffalo, NY area where he attended Orchard Park High School.