Imagine being responsible for the upkeep of a dorm at SCAD, making sure the lights in the halls work and coming up with fun student activities. Matthew Kelly, a fourth-year illustration student, has to do all that and more. Here, Kelly offers insight into his job as a resident assistant at SCAD’s ACA House.
What are an RA’s duties?
We have night duty once a week where we are down in the office from 6 to 9 p.m. We have an RA phone, and when we have that it means we’re on call. The RA on duty that night picks up the phone at 5:30 p.m. and he or she is on duty until 8:30 a.m. the next morning. We also have weekend duties where we are on call from 5:30 p.m. on Friday until 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
We do rounds twice a night to make sure that the building has no maintenance problems. For instance, if a light is out in one of the halls, we document that in our RA duty binder and fill out an online maintenance request so that the issue is taken care of. We also look for any suspicious or illegal activities. We handle situations whether it would be lockouts or a person requesting an overnight pass. We also put up fliers for future dorm-wide events.
As an RA, we hold three events per quarter. Each falls under a certain category — self-improvement, academic, community and diversity. RA’s also check residents in and out of the dorms. As an RA, we uphold SCAD’s policies.
What kind of dorm-wide events have you held?
I’ve had jewelry-making nights. I brought a bunch of supplies, such as beads, strings and earring hooks, and set them out in the ACA common room. Residents came down and made their own jewelry. I also served refreshments.
At movie nights, I have shown “Accepted” for a break from finals for residents, and for Halloween, I showed “Underworld.”
In March, I’ll be having an open studio painting night where I will have faculty come to the dorms and give demos on their style of painting, and I will also give a demo myself.
Why are you an RA?
I am an RA because I enjoy getting to know people and being part of a community that helps make living in the dorms an enjoyable experience along with being a safe experience.
How does being an RA benefit your future?
It benefits my future by showing that I have strong leadership skills and that I can work well as part of a team. It also shows a certain level of responsibility that my employers have trusted in me. I want to become a teacher and being an RA will show that I have the ethics and qualification to help lead a community.
Do you feel that you’re more connected to the SCAD community?
Yes, because through other RAs and other workers at SCAD, I have a better understanding and more knowledge in areas and majors of the school that I might not be a part of. I feel that being an RA, I’m a representative of SCAD. So when students or parents come up to me with questions, I feel that I can answer them. For example, if a student needed help on their resume or finding jobs, I can direct them to Career Services.