My Year as an RA - Sean Hartman, Resident Assistant, Mae Smith Hall

My experiences over this past year will be one's to remember. As a new year began here in Mae Smith, I came back to a Resident Assistant (RA) staff that was 50% new staff along with two new Assistant Hall Directors, one new Hall Director, and new Assistant Director of Residence Life. As we started training, I was excited to get to know the new RA and Senior staffs. As we all got to know each other, most of us became friends fairly quickly, while others were shy and didn’t know how the returning RAs would act towards them. After the first couple of days, it seemed like everyone was friends and you would never know that we only had been together for a few days.

One thing you take away from being a RA is that you have friends for life. As training went on, it very quickly came to an end, and before we knew it residents were moving in and school was about to start. As school began to start, my floor partner and I started to plan our first floor meeting; we were eager to meet our residents and to make new friends and friendships on our floor. A few weeks after the start of school, residents began to stop by and want to talk or just watch some TV and hang out. In response, my floor partner and I planned a program that would allow the residents a break from study and to get out of their rooms.

One great thing about my floor is that most of the residents are Architecture majors because the floor is one of the Architecture LLC floors. This allows other residents to make friends quickly, since most of them are in the same classes. The LLC has great opportunities for both the residents and the RAs. As an RA, I get to know the Architecture faculty and staff better than knowing them just as Professors. I have formed friendships with them as they have helped me plan and facilitate events. When I have been stumped on a program, they usually have great ideas.

A good part about being in Mae Smith, along with the other two towers, is we have a floor partners that helps get things done. It cuts the work load in half and gives the residents two people to go to if they need something. Some residents feel more comfortable going to one over the other, but that’s what we are here for. By having a tight knit relationship with my floor partner, I have someone to go to if I need to vent or just need to get out of your room and hang out. But the floor partner isn’t the only person you can go to in Mae Smith; we have 31 other RAs you can go to as well. Throughout the school year, when we have those stressful days and just need to get away, there lots of other RAs to go to.

I would have to say that is probably one of the best experiences as a RA getting to see residents grow throughout their college career. It may not seem like it at the time, but you have a big impact on them and they have a huge impact on you. There are many more experiences I could talk about, but your staff and your residents have the lasting experiences on you.