Late last week, we asked Connector readers to send questions for their resident assistants. From 100 Midtown to Forty to SCAD House, we talked to a handful of RAs, who were happy to share their experience.
Allie Witzmann, Forest Lake, Minnesota
Major: Animation
Dorm: Forty Upperclassman
Laisha Diaz Rodriguez, Mexico
Major: Interior Design
Dorm: Forty Upperclassman
Lidya Getachew, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Major: Film
Dorm: SCAD House
Paul Trujillo, New York, New York
Major: 2D Animation
Dorm: 100 Midtown
Tasha Khasakhala, Nairobi, Kenya
Major: Fashion Marketing and Merchandising
Dorm: SCAD House
Victoria Ellensohn, Austin, Texas
Major: Advertising and Branding with a minor in business management
Dorm: Forty
Yu-Fong Chen, Guatemala
Major: 2-D Animation
Dorm: Forty Freshmen
Do RAs get a paycheck or does it go into their housing?
Trujillo: We are given a training stipend at the start of training but any “payment” goes towards housing.
Khasakhala: We don’t get any paychecks however, RA’s receive a grant-in-aid amount of $3,900.
Chen: RAs get what’s called a Grant-in-Aid. It’s basically an added scholarship that deducts slightly from your overall tuition (including some housing).
Do you get to choose which dorm you want to be an RA at?
Trujillo: We get to set a preference and if we don’t get that preference we can ask for a change but it’s dependent on them approving the change.
Ellensohn: When you apply to be an RA, you are asked what building you would like to be at, but ultimately your placement is up to higher-ups and where you are needed.
Chen: You get to send over a preference of where you’d like to be placed and higher ups then decide for you. I’ve lived at and quite like SCAD House, so I originally wanted to be an RA there, but I was placed in Forty.
Who plans the res life events and can students participate in planning?
Rodriguez: We do! We plan res life events at the beginning/end of each quarter. We love getting the
student’s opinions about our programs because we do them for YOU!
Khasakhala: It is RA’s who plan the res life events and each idea gets approved by the Community Assistant and Resident Director. Students do not participate in the planning however they can always suggest event ideas to their RA.
Ellensohn: The RA teams at each residence hall are assigned a program group; in this group, the RA plans each event. Residents’ input is always encouraged, but ultimately the RA’s are planning events that students will enjoy.
Chen: The reslife events are planned in accordance to the values reslife wants to touch up on. With that, us RAs come up with ideas and submit a proposal. Our bosses talk it over and see what’s the best fit or most doable, and then it’s given a date. This is done around the beginnings and ends of quarters, but technically, RAs can plan more events than the required ones if they’d like (or have time). Students can reach out to their RAs! Or reach out to reslife for that matter. RAs bosses (CAs and RDs) are reasonable and nice.
Funniest RA on call moment?
Witzmann: Funniest RA moment is that I was a Georgia Tech RA for Halloween.
Rodriguez: I think the funniest calls I got were noise complaints when I was a freshman, I used to get noise complaints, so karma had to get back at me.
Getachew: To be honest nothing funny has happened when I was on call.
Trujillo: Someone burnt food and it stunk up the whole floor.
Khasakhala: The funniest on-call moment for me was when I had to help with floods that were happening on 3 floors. The situation was so bad that I had to play Rihanna’s “ANTI” album for motivation.
Ellensohn: My funniest RA on-call moment was when I went up to unlock a resident’s door, and then about 20 minutes later, they locked it again, so I had to go up and show them how to lock and unlock their bedroom door.
What happens when an RA locks themself out of their own room?
Rodriguez: I text my roommate to pretend nothing happened or text a coworker to come to my rescue.
Trujillo: I’ve never locked myself out, but if anyone ever does, we usually just ask another RA to help open our door.
Khasakhala: RA’s have the ability to open their rooms just as they would help any other student with a lockout.
Chen: I usually call up my roommates and ask them to let me in. For me, it has never happened with the actual physical key, but you know …
Any RA horror stories?
Witzmann: Either A: having to clean vomit at 3 a.m., or B: having to fight not one, but three residents about wearing shoes.
Rodriguez: We cannot disclose much information, but I have to say that leaks are no joke.
Getachew: Toilet floods could get pretty crazy.
Trujillo: Can’t say much but being up till 3 is not fun.
Khasakhala: There’s a ghost at SCAD House.
Ellensohn: I don’t have any RA horror stories; I’ve been lucky enough to have a great floor of residents and not many issues with my floor or while being on call.
Chen: OMG. I had to do room checks at the end of Fall and most of my residents were gone. Walked into a dorm, tape on the wall saying…. very worrisome subject matter. Every single door looks like it’s been graffitied with black tape. There’s charcoal of the walls and Xs on the tables with plushies on top of them. Suffice it to say, I had a foot on the door and called up a resident from that room. Apparently, it was an ongoing joke; my residents are … something. Honestly, I am happy I have them.
Do RAs get the inside scoop?
Rodriguez: We get some information before residents, but it’s usually a 10-minute difference.
Trujillo: We all kinda get news a bit early as things kinda trickle down to us, or we talk to each other.
Khasakhala: RA’s only get to know things around residence life professionally.
Ellensohn: As RAs, our job is to be reporters and be aware of any and everything going on, so I think we do, in a way, get the inside scoop which often isn’t as exciting as it may sound.
Chen: Of course. It’s up to the RA what they wish to do with the info, but I think people are horrible at lying and hiding stuff.
Are the hours taxing?
Witzmann: On-call is sometimes taxing. But overall it’s chill.
Rodriguez: Having a fantastic team allows us to enjoy the work. Although on-call hours can be a little tiring, we divide the work evenly, allowing for lots of rest time!
Getachew: No, the hours are quite easy and manageable.
Trujillo: Office hours are never bad, usually just do work during them but sometimes on-call can mean long hours and long nights but still never too bad.
Khasakhala: The hours are usually only about four hours per week depending on the building of which you are placed so it is manageable.
Chen: I wouldn’t think so. Unless something is going on, you do your job a couple times a week and you should be good. The beginning of the school year is exhausting though. People are so lost.
What made you want to be an RA?
Rodriguez: I love helping people. My RA had a significant impact on my freshman experience. She made me want to support people needed with this life-changing experience.
Getachew: I wanted to help students and work close by campus.
Trujillo: I like working with people and helping people so it kinda just made sense, and I had a good RA myself.
Khasakhala: I have always loved being a part of a community that supports and helps individuals. I also wanted to gain professional and leadership skills.
Ellensohn: I wanted to join an organization here at SCAD and had a friend freshman year who was an RA that encouraged me to apply. I am happy they did because I’ve made so many new friends and have my RA family support me.
Chen: My (own) RA was a lovely person! She made me not feel alone when I was down or feeling homesick. She was helpful and supportive, so I guess I wanted to be that too. I’m trying.
What’s the benefits of being an RA?
Getachew: The grant is helpful the hours are easy to work with and you get to learn a lot about yourself and others.
Trujillo: Being able to help other students the way I was helped is nice, and I feel like I enjoy being a friendly face for my residents if they ever need me, plus helping with tuition is great.
Khasakhala: The grant-in-aid is the most beneficial thing. Being an RA also helps enhance certain skills that are beneficial in any workplace that you may encounter in the future.
Ellensohn: The benefits of being an RA are getting to help with many SCAD events and hosting our own. Being an RA also teaches you good time management, team building, and communication skills. There are many benefits, but I think being in a leadership role sets us up for our future careers and sets us up to be leaders outside of SCAD.
Chen: I’ve learned so much. About dealing with people professionally and personally. Teamwork, time-management, overall job stuff, and I like being there for others! Provide info or help to navigate SCAD life. Don’t make the same mistakes I did! Or do what I didn’t. That makes it fulfilling for me.
