To become a resident assistant, you must develop strong character as a role model for residents. This involves acting with good intentions even when unobserved, and letting your values guide you. As an RA, you must represent the staff well through your speech, actions, and communication. You should also facilitate connections between residents and help residents resolve conflicts themselves rather than doing it for them. Finally, it is important as an RA to admit when you are wrong, as this demonstrates willingness to hold yourself to standards and creates a comfortable environment where residents can also take risks.

1. How do I become a
Resident Assistant?

2. Carving out your Character
 Character
 Role Modeling
 Leadership and Followership
 Being a Team Player

3. Your values help define you as a leader
Character and as a person. Character is who you
are and how you will act even when no
one is watching.
A Person of
Character Works
 Consider the following:
Towards Being
◦ Good intentions alone don’t cut it
Considerate ◦ You need to act
Humane ◦ Let your values be your guide
Aware
Reliable ◦ It’s the Big AND the Little things.
Active As an RA your character is probably under
Culturally sensitive more scrutiny than the average student.
What is your character saying about you?
Team-focused
Effective
Respectful

4. Residents will look to you to
Role Modeling establish what is acceptable and
where the boundaries are.
Things to consider when as you
put your best foot forward:
 Attitude
 Body Language How do you represent
your staff?
 Appropriate Messages
 Confident Decision-making  speak
 Questionable Behaviors  act
 communicate
 Respect  goof off
 act responsibly
 tell jokes
 interact with others

5. Leadership and Followership
A true leader knows that it is important for others to share in leadership roles
in order to build up new leaders for tomorrow.
As RAs you don’t try to misuse or overextend your
authority, your talents, or positions.
How to Diffuse Conflict
 You should not be
 Set firm ground rules the main attraction
 insist on civil language
Show people how
 Allow no personal attacks on to resolve their own
name calling conflicts rather
than doing it for
 Make your intentions &
expectation clear right from the them
start.
You’re there to
 Stop offending parties right
away – don’t let them drag the show them the way
group down
Your role involves
Praise positive behavior to send
facilitating
a clear message.
connections between
“Good leaders were first great followers.” – Don
Ward
people and

6. Being a Team Player
Develop a Team Supreme!
 Positive approach will gain respect
 Discuss strengths and weaknesses
 Create Team Traditions
 Avoid Cliques
 Open lines of Communication
 Support one Another
 Maintain a professional Attitude Working with Supervisors!!!
Get comfortable with this
 Be Polite
person, even when it comes to
sharing feedback. You will
have a lot of personal time with
your Community Coordinator.
It’s okay to ask questions.

7. Being Yourself
 Positive Institutional Rep
 Wellness
 Priority, Organization, and Time
Management
 Communication

8. Positive Institutional Rep
Being an RA can be a 24/7 job. You serve as campus role models
and an institutional representative. But can you still be you?
Dealing with your Celebrity Status
As an RA you are a Role Model.
You are on display regardless of
whether you are in your
community, walking to class, or out on
the town. As exciting as the attention is
,there are always drawbacks. You can
become a discussion on
campus, become the campus news, or
apart of the paparazzo's (residents)
new attraction.. They are everywhere!

9. Wellness
 Staying Well on and off the job
◦ Focus on the health of your mind, body, and spirit.
 Eating
 Sleeping
 Making time for important things
 Sleep Savvy
◦ What is the ideal amount of sleep you need?
 Overcompensate
 Routine
 Power Nap
 Nutritional Negligence
◦ What do you eat
◦ Skipping meals
◦ Water
 That Move around Magic
◦ Exercise
◦ Staying Active
 Let Your Spirit Soar
◦ Taking Quiet time for you

10. Priorities, Organization and Time
Management
Staying Organized
 Separate your
Managing Priorities Personal/Professio
nal Space
 Make Lists
 Declutter
 Update Lists
 Identify Real
Priorities
 Date List Items
 Know your Limits

11. Communication
The Written Word
 Avoid the Passive
Voice
Non-Verbal
 Be Concise
Communication
 Be Specific  Crossed arms = Closed off to what is
 Write like you speak being said
 Leaning Forward= interned in what
the other person is saying
 Heavy sighs = Discontented or bored
 Smiling = Sends positive support
 Squirming = Cored or uncomfortable
with the topic
 Nodding = Listening and engaged

12. Building Community
 Connecting with your residents
 Culture of Civility
 Programming and Event Management

13. Connecting with your
Residents
Before you can plunge into the
“deep stuff” you need to connect
with residents on the most basic
level.
Link people with similar interests
Make academic connections
Look out for loners
As the RA, you don’t always have to be in the
limelight, leading students every step of the way.
Sometimes your most important role is that of
facilitator – where you facilitate the beginning of
relationships and connections between students.
Sometimes they just need that little nudge that you
provide!

14. Culture and Civility
Civility
1: formal or perfunctory
politeness
2: the act of showing regard for
other
Source: http:/dict.die.net/civility/
 Create welcoming
communities Gossip Can Poison!
 Use inclusive
decorations While gossip forms one of
 Assess restricting the oldest and (still) the
facilities most common means of
spreading and sharing
 Do not assume
information, it also has a
 Be human reputation for the
 Address slurs introduction of errors and
 Create open other variations into the
communities information thus

15. Programming and Event
Management
 Know your
Audience
◦ Group Brainstorming
◦ Surveys
◦ Focus groups
How to get started Programming:
1. Know what your budget is
2. Format a timeline
3. Make your Publicity
4. The Small Stuff
5. Follow up

16. Being Inclusive
 Welcoming
 Diversity and Social Justice

17.  Be clear about expectations
Welcoming  Be consistent
 Recognize achievements, big and small
 Keep people informed
 Maintain a positive attitude
As the RA it is your
 Hold people accountable
job to build
community. This can  Confront in private when possible
be an exciting and
 Be a good Listener
sometimes daunting
task. So dig in and  Be Welcoming to people from a variety of
get started!
backgrounds
 Welcome questions
 Don’t pass judgment on mistakes
 Admit your own mistakes
Incorporate their suggestions, criticisms and ideas
 Give Feedback
 Share why you do things they way you do them
 Never lose sight that students are people first

18. Diversity and Social Justice
THE BIG SIX!
Ethnicity: Students may look like one ethnicity but identify as another or more
,
than one ethnicity.
Age: Some residents may be returning to college after a leave or just starting
out.
Spirituality: Be aware of your words and what assumptions they make.
Ability: Abilities range from emotional or psychological to physical. Students
may have family and friends who are differently-abled. Watch words like
“retarded” or “cripple”
Socic-Economic Status: Think about finances when determining group
experiences.

19. Learning from Mistakes
 It’s okay to be wrong

20. It’s okay to be wrong “Character cannot be
developed in ease
and quiet. Only
through experience
Admitting when you’re wrong not only
of trial and suffering
demonstrates human fallibility, it
can the soul be
admits a willingness to hold yourself, strengthened, ambiti
as well as your fellow group on inspired, and
members, to certain standards. success achieved”
- Helen Keller
As an RA when you admit to being
wrong it creates a more comfortable
climate for residents and it reminds
RES
them it’s okay to take a risk. LIFE
“ You must never feel badly about making misstates, as long as you
take the trouble to learn from them. For your often learn more by
being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the
wrong reasons.”
- Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth