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| R.A.
Training: Get Ready… Here it Comes! By Guy Arnesen So you got
that R.A. position you have been dreaming about for two semesters, and
now your stomach is a bit tight and doubt is creeping into the corner
of your thoughts. Can I really do this? You have
been hired for the R.A. position because you have successfully made the
transition into the university culture and residence hall living. You
show the potential to guide students through the challenges that they
probably do not even realize await them. Instead of picking their community
of friends who think, act, and have the same interests, they will suddenly
be dropped into a new environment made up of people from different backgrounds,
cultures, interests, habits, abilities, and sexual orientations. Diversity
will now become a very real everyday occurrence, and many of your residents
have probably never had to honestly look at how that will affect and change
them. Philosophy
of your position Your most
immediate role is quite simple: help your students successfully transition
into a new environment and culture. They will be have to use skills that
they most likely have not yet completely developed, and from now on, nobody
else (parents, friends, teachers) can do it for them. Sound impossible?
It isn’t; you have already made that transition successfully, and
with solid training you will be ready to mentor others as they go through
something that, in many cases, will be similar to your own experience.
Work hard from the start to develop solid relationships with your residents.
If they realize that you understand their concerns and issues, that you
care about them, you will be able to have the kind of conversations that
have meaning and impact in their lives: the advice of a friend and peer.
Help your residents learn about developing positive patterns from the
very start of their year. Challenge them to think about their responsibilities
as a community member, to clarify their values, and to make wise decisions
around academics, study habits, alcohol, drugs, friendships, sexual relationships,
exercise, parties, and wellness. Training
gets the mind churning and the emotions flowing. As the whirlwind of information
and ideas swirls around you, take time in the evenings to think about
how it all relates to working with your residents. Think back to when
you first moved into the residence hall system. Remember that feeling
of tightness in your stomach? If you can stay focused on why you do things
as well as how you do things you will definitely develop the ability to
help residents remove that tightness that they will be feeling. Although
they probably have not thought much about it, the following issues will
become very real in their lives. Think about how you can support and challenge
them around these topics:
Rules and
policies may help provide structure for the incoming students, but relationships,
honest and caring communication, and a solid role model in the form of
a Resident Assistant will help even more. You can help create an environment
where individuals feel that they not only fit, but belong; not only matter,
but have a voice; not only can feel safe, but can become involved in programs,
activities, and make life-long friendships. Get involved with your residents
to help them gain the confidence and skills for setting the kind of patterns
that will help them succeed in a totally new culture; one that places
all the responsibility for their success directly on their own shoulders
(for the first time in many cases). Don’t
worry… we will get you ready. Residence Life programs have excellent
preparation and training programs for the new staff coming into R.A. positions.
As you prepare this summer, you can look at your job description to figure
out the many roles you will play in student lives. Use your time at orientation
and training to ask questions and gain ideas about how to develop the
skills that will help you fill those roles. The bonus for you personally
is that these skills will help you be successful the rest of your life:
with your career, family, parenting, or volunteering in your community.
The life skills you develop are the real compensation for the R.A. position,
not the standard room and board that helps lighten the financial load.
Here are some things you can expect in your training, and also some things
to think about as you prepare to move into your new position. General
to Specific When you
first get to training you may be anxious. Relax, it will all fall into
place. Most Residence Life programs will begin training by setting a philosophical
groundwork for all you do: examining why the system is set up the way
it is. You may want to learn about how to properly fill out an incident
report, and they will be talking about why they approach conduct as an
educational and developmental process. Don’t panic! The training
will move from general to specific, from philosophy to policies and procedures.
This has purpose! You will need to help students understand why we do
what we do. Focus on seeing the vision behind the policies and procedures
that help students become successful. They will need someone they trust
and care about who will be willing to honestly ask them to think about
why they are making the choices they are making. Have they thought it
through? Do they realize how their actions effect others? Do they realize
the opportunities they may gain or lose with their choices and behaviors? Orientation
and Teambuilding Get ready
to initially do lots of talking, sharing, and playing with your staff.
Teambuilding is strategic in building your comfort with your environment
and your staff! Get your frame of reference correct from the very beginning.
The R.A. job is not an individual working on a floor section; it is a
staff team working with a building of students, with each member having
both central and floor responsibilities. It is essential for you to build
a relationship with fellow staff members based on trust and solid communication.
Those silly teambuilders and games are building a support group for you!
Play with them! Invest in developing solid relationships with your staff
and they will "have your back" in the tough times ahead. They
will be the ones who truly understand what you are going through, and
they can help you keep it all in perspective. Staff
Discussions Some of
the most beneficial sessions you will have will be with your staff team
as you begin talking about roles, goals, and expectations. Within these
conversations your values, as well as those of your co-workers will quickly
surface. The initial teambuilding will help you find your commonalties
as a group. It is during these discussions that you find your diversity
as a group. Try your best not to judge the variety of perceptions and
opinions, but work to gain the strength of looking at issues from the
various points of view. Your openness to different approaches and styles
will only benefit students and your own personal growth. Finally, it will
be important to come to consensus on how you will approach things as a
staff. Your flexibility, as well as that of your peers, will be essential.
Keep your ego in check and learn and grow from the process. Skill
Building and Practice As you move
further along into training, the specifics will begin to come. You will
have training on topics ranging from assertive communication through desk
and duty responsibilities. "Well, if I ran into that situation I
would just…". A word of warning: the real life situations are
always more complex and intimidating than what you talked about in training.
The more opportunities you get to actually practice the skills you are
learning, the more prepared you will feel when you first have to use them.
Possibly the most beneficial training will come in the form of role-playing
and case studies. Staff members usually hate the idea of Behind Closed
Doors, but the reality is that these sessions will help you the most.
In sessions such as Behind Closed Doors, a new staff member knocks
on a closed door and responds to whatever situation is being role-played
by experienced staff. You can get past worrying about looking foolish
in front of your peers, so just relax and try out what you would actually
say and do if you walked into certain situations. Returning staff will
be incredibly helpful as they talk about what has worked for them in the
past, and probably more importantly, what mistakes they made and learned
from. You will quickly gain confidence and develop approaches, words,
and actions that will help deal effectively with the kinds of challenges
that arise from time to time on the job. Meetings
and communication patterns During training
you will work around class times to set up the semester’s patterns
of communication for you, your staff, and your supervisor. Some words
of advice about meetings: use them wisely, and enter into them having
thought about what issues you have questions about and what opinions you
are willing to share. Typically, you will meet individually with your
supervisor, attend weekly staff meetings with your Resident Assistant
staff, lead floor and community meetings, and attend student leader meetings
such as Hall Government and programming teams. Although there are a lot
of meetings, every one can bring you energy if you prepare ahead of time,
think about how you want to express ideas and thoughts, and attempt to
focus as much on others as you do on yourself. The great discussions that
take place during training can continue throughout the semester with supervisory
and staff meetings. Training
Topics Listed below
are some of the topics that will most likely be covered during your orientation
and training. This varies from school to school, usually depending on
time, resources, availability of trainers, and in-service training sessions
available during the fall semester.
How You
Can Prepare Read! Carefully
look over any summer mailings or articles given to you after being selected
for the R.A. position. When you get to training get excited and stay focused.
Be a sponge and soak up all that you can! Ask what and why questions about
policies and procedures so you can help students see the bigger picture.
Commit to learning as much as possible so you can role model and become
a valuable resource for the students you come in contact with during the
academic year. You will come out of this experience with life skills.
You will improve your skills in communication, problem solving, facilitating
conversations/discussions, time management, group leadership, and vocalizing
your values and beliefs. The students will gain from your friendship,
guidance, and commitment to their success. You were
hired because of what you have learned by getting involved and taking
leadership opportunities. It seems ironic that we now ask you to slow
down and focus on this particular leadership opportunity, but we need
you involved and committed. This is one of the most important positions
at your school. To do it well, you will need to let go of some of those
other experiences and focus on this incredible and important opportunity.
All those other leadership experiences have led you to this point. To
do the R.A. position well takes an incredible time commitment. This time
commitment is not just desk, duty, and meetings, but also the time it
takes to build relationships, develop and provide programs, help students
learn to prioritize and problem solve, and to consistently communicate
with staff and students with the daily challenges of college life. This
truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity to touch so many lives. We have
confidence you will do it excellently! About the Author
Guy Arnesen began his Residence Life career as a Resident Assistant for three years while working on his BA in Social Work at Colorado State University. After graduating, he worked as a counselor with troubled youth and managed athletic clubs for several years. Realizing something was missing in his work life (student contact), he returned to Colorado State for his Masters of Education in College Student Personnel Administration (now the Student Affairs in Higher Education graduate program). Guy has been raised in Residence Life, working at times as a Resident Assistant, Hall Director, Complex Coordinator, Assistant Director for Staff Supervision and Administration, and currently is working with Training, Programming, and Leadership Development. |
