"I talk about my hallway as if it were my country and I talk about my residents as if they were my loyal citizens." ~ RA Keya
In the academic year 2022-2023, I was offered a role to become a Resident Advisor in Morgens Hall, for the Business Living Learning Community. My responsibility as an RA, is to develop a positive environment for my residents through conflict resolution, counseling, and educational programming. As a first time RA, I was enrolled in the COOP 1000 class where I was challenged to reflect, think, and organize my goals as an RA. A big emphasis of the class was on continuous reflection, in order to integrate the coursework with the skills I developed in this role. The course started with a discussion board about what my expectations from the RA role were, and what I hoped to take away from it.
Throughout the semester the course deliverables consisted of various other discussion boards and content, discussing SMART goals, communication, mental health, leadership, collaboration, etc. My RA journey in the fall semester had been a rollercoaster ride in terms of getting used to the job expectations, learning to be a better communicator, and finding a balance between my role as an RA and a student. One of the key takeaways during the fall semester was learning to understand the importance of striking a balance between being friendly with my residents and being authoritative as the situation demanded. I always struggled with confrontation, but the role helped me go out of my comfort zone and deal with situations I have never dealt with before, as well as help guide my residents to resources that could contribute to their positive experience at UC.
Being surrounded by other RAs and my supervisor, I felt very comfortable with my ability to perform in this role, and made sure to ask for help whenever necessary. My most favorite moment throughout the semester was when a few of my residents told me that I was an awesome RA, and when the Morgens staff had a Christmas party where we all exchanged gifts and bonded over the holiday spirit. Overall, I had a great time as an RA, learning to push myself out of my comfort zone while discovering my strengths as a leader. The skills I learned through the COOP 1000 course as well as the role have shaped me into a much more confident leader. I am sure that these skills will contribute heavily in my future career goals as well. Below is the first discussion board we had to complete as a part of the course which pushed me to think about my goals for my time as an RA. I can't wait to see what my future journey as an RA has in store for me!