One of the best parts about doing all this traveling for grad school interviews is meeting all the amazing people out there so passionate about entering this field. It's funny because someone always ends up asking, "So what are your interests in student affairs? What do you do?"
My immediate response is always "Umm well... I'm a Res Life person." haha But ya, a lot of my undergrad experience is related to Res Life.
I still remember that day during freshman year when I was walking to the bathroom down the hall and saw a poster with Adam Sandler, Katie Couric, Wesley Snipes, and Sheryl Crow and it said something like "Be a Leader" and I just felt so innately drawn to the idea of being an RA. It wasn't about money, it wasn't about a guaranteed place to live... it just honestly sounded like exactly what I wanted out of my college experience at that time. Then from there, it was becoming a Desk Manager to see the administrative side of things and incorporate my Business major to my University Housing experience. Then it was becoming more serious about student affairs and pursuing the ACUHO-I internship. ResLifeResLifeResLIfe. But what is it about Res Life that makes me so passionate about it?
Here's another excerpt from an application that is kind of my general thoughts on Res Life. Another kind of like "let me just put this here so I can look back at it one day and say awww I was such a cute and naive little undergrad who had no idea how all of that would lead to all the amazing things that have happened since then" haha:
I envision myself professionally entering the field through a Residence Life position. I recognize that my Resident Advisor experience is what ignited my passion for the Student Affairs field. I now see my residents in leadership roles on campus and pursuing their career goals. In reflection, I recall conversations I had with them about self-awareness and educational pursuits. I can’t help but feel my RA role had some type of influence and purpose. Student development is what keeps me motivated and inspired to pursue this as my career path. In a professional Residence Life position, my goal is to develop true student leaders in my RA staff so that they may in turn positively affect the lives of their residents and discover self-awareness in a way similar to my experience.
In Residence Life, I also have a strong interest in Living Learning Communities. As a first year student living in an LLC for my major, I truly felt that community supported my academic success. This past summer, I pursued an ACUHO-I Internship for Canadian Campus Communities in Calgary, Canada. In this role, I had an opportunity to develop a 3-phase action plan to implement an Arts Living Learning Community. It first focused on the RA role in programming, then expanding to involvement with the Arts School programming and resources, and eventual plans for mentorship from Arts leaders in the community. This experience furthered my appreciation for LLCs and as a professional, I hope to play a role in developing LLC programs to support academic and professional growth within the Residence Hall in a way that enhances the student experience.
