Being On Duty

Q. If you could identify one key to being a successful RA, what would it be?

A. Care about your job, and enjoy it.
UC Davis

A. Give 110%, you will get it back threefold!
Jennifer Anderson - Southern Methodist University

A. Set your floor rules right away and be consistant. It's a lot easier to ease off rules you've started than to make them more strict as time goes on. Also show the utmost respect for  your residents right away. This is something you can use later on in confrontations: "I have always shown you complete respect and all I ask is to be respected in return."
Leigh Ann Lorusso - University of Wisconsin at Whitewater

A. Establishing a good rapport with your residents right away. That doesn't mean letting them know that you're really cool and you're never going to write them up. Rather, it is clearly stating your position and letting them know the real reason you are there: to help keep them safe, and to make their experience at college better and easier. My residents still tease me and call me their "resource". I guess I used that word a lot in our first few days, but believe me, they have taken me up on it! Which brings up another important point, always do what you say. If you say you're going to do a lot of fun programs, do them! If you say you will follow the university's policies to the absolute letter (which I'm sure EVERYONE does),  do it! If you say you're going to be a resource...be ready to be one.  Respect for what you are doing is key, and the only way you are going to get that, is to earn it.
Sara Schaeffner - University of Vermont

A. Realizing that you DON'T have to do this alone. You have a HUGE support network that stretches out clear across campus, not just within your hall, or even just in Res. Life. It's important to realize that if you need help, GET IT! Don't muddle through something just because you're trying to be Super RA--even the strongest of us need help sometimes.
Amber Benoit - Colorado State University

A. There are many qualities that a person should posses to be an effective RA. Instead of choosing just one, I have decided to discuss two important qualities that are essential to RA's. One of these is being assertive. As an RA you are a person and a resident of your floor as well, therefore you have certain rights that must be respected. Also assertiveness is important when confronting bad behavior. However, there is a big difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness. Assertive behavior is that which respects the rights of both you and the person in which the behavior is directed. Aggressive behavior is that which overpowers and degrades the person to which it is directed. People are more inclined to respond to assertive behavior than aggressive behavior.

Another important quality of a successful RA is to be yourself. Don't try to be someone that your are not. This will make you look fake and people will quickly pick up on that. As a result you might not get much respect from your residents. However, if you are week in certain areas (assertiveness, people skills, time management, etc.) you should take advantage of the opportunity that you have as an RA and improve in those areas.
Eric Honeycutt - North Carolina State University

A. Exemplify positive behavior.
Michael Wilde - Concordia College