Tweet

“It can get very crazy at times, but that’s also where I learned to manage time better, and how I learned to work in those high-pressure environments,” said Chris Tran, L’s 4th floor RA. 

For leaders on campus like Tran, juggling school, jobs, sports and more can be difficult.  

The RAs are a significant part of the experience of living on campus. Resident assistants, or advisors, are positions held by students to create a comfortable and safe environment for all who live on campus.  

At Grand View University, there are 17 RAs between five different student buildings: Nielsen, Knudsen, Hull, Langrock, and the Ls. It is never easy to live away from home or moving away for the first time. This is the transition that RAs help students go through by setting rules, managing conflict, and creating a safer place for students in their respective buildings. Tran moved to the United States when he was only 15 years old, and he did not have that person to help him in the transition when moving away for the first time.  

“That’s the reason why I wanted to be an RA, I wanted to be that person to help the freshman who, you know, were moving away from home for the first time,” Tran said.  

More and more students have applied to be RAs and even though it is intriguing for many students on campus, it is not always easy being the person who people come with their struggles. 

Tran talks about how every building has its pros and cons, and some buildings require different effort than others because they are not the same. This is due to students living in the buildings being at different years in their major. Tran explains the transition and differences between the freshman buildings, like Nielsen and Knudsen, compared to the Ls with students who have already lived on campus for a few years.  

“I think each building has its own challenges and also its perks, so when you live in the freshman dorms and are an RA there, your residents rely on you more because they just got to campus,” Tran said.  

Being an RA comes with a lot of commitment, time management, accountability, and responsibility. Tran talked about his experience with new RAs.  

“Committing to be an RA is a big commitment, so that’s the only thing I would say to people before they apply. Know why you’re doing it because when times get rough, I think knowing the reason why you started in the first place will be very valuable,” Tran said.  

Although being an RA comes with good and bad experiences, it is something that can push you out of your comfort zone and help you grow as a person. Being an RA is a good transition into adulthood for students who seek experiences in life with a lot on their hands and for students who want to take more risks and be more responsible.  

 “If you are not ever put in a position where you have to stretch yourself, you’re never going to grow,” Tran said.  

Emma Cochran is another RA at GVU. Cochran is the RA for Hull’s first floor apartments and suites and is in her third year of working in the residence halls. Cochran spent her first year as an RA in Langrock suites with most of her residents being nursing students.  

“When you are an RA for freshmen, it’s a lot different when you’re an RA for seniors. I am the one and only RA on campus that has both suites and apartments, so I get the pleasure or luck of having a little bit more broad age range of residents,” Cochran said. “I think the main difference is how you have to interact with freshmen versus seniors.” 

 Cochran talked about why she wanted to become an RA and the difficulties that she went through before applying. Cochran’s first year was not the easiest due to the hardships of transitioning from living at home to suddenly being on your own.  

 “My freshman year, I had a very difficult year trying to make friends, just got really homesick, and my RA freshman year was super amazing at just making me feel included,” Cochran said. “I never really went to her, but she went out of her way to make sure that I was coming to events, and I was getting out of my room, and I think because of her I opened up a lot more.” 

 Even though Cochran did not have the easiest transition moving away from home, becoming an RA helped her build a life at GVU by meeting more students and building a community.  

 “I can meet a variety of people and get to know those people and build connections with those people that I don’t think I would have without the position, so I think that’s the greatest part of being an RA, just the community,” Cochran said. 

 With all the good parts and how rewarding it has been for Cochran to be an RA, there are many conflicts to deal with.  

 “One part of being an RA is that we deal with roommate conflicts, and you never really want your residents to come to you and tell you that they are having problems with their roommates because obviously, we want everyone to live in harmony but that’s not how it works,” Cochran said. 

 Both Tran and Cochran have had tough experiences moving away from home that made them want to help other people. The RA experience comes with good, bad, and rewarding experiences that give you an opportunity to meet new people, build your own community, and most importantly, help guide students living on campus through their lives.