Q.
What is the toughest situation you have had to deal
with as
an RA, and how did you do it?
A.
I had a resident come to me with a family situation
that encompassed nearly every heinous thing you can
imagine. She had never told anyone before and could,
literally, barely get the words out. I spent hours and
hours with her. Maybe too many. But I thought maybe,
just maybe, she would look back in ten years and see
the time she was finally able to open up to somebody
- her RA - as a turning point in her life. I referred
her to Counseling, I went with her, I brought them to
her, I went in her place. It was exhausting. But she
is still here, and I can't imagine her having made it
without help. I'm glad I was able to give it to her.
Sara Schaeffner - University of Vermont
A.
The hardest thing I've ever had to deal with as an
RA was helping a resident who had just been sexually
assaulted. Fortunately, on our campus, we have the
Victim Assistance Team, and we're able to page them
whenever we need them, as they always have an advocate
on call. For me, the most important part of helping
that resident was allowing her to make all the decisions
about what happened--whether she went to the hospital,
filed a police report, talked to anyone else or even
if she wanted to tell me what happened. She decided
to talk to an advocate from VAT and go through the
proceedures to collect evidence and press charges.
Amber Benoit - Colorado State University
A.
Two residents were fighting with 2x4 boards in the
hallway. I used my voice - not my body - to
seperate them, had a trustworthy resident call campus
security to explin it, and meanwhile discouraged onlookers.
Oh yeah... I shook a lot too - those nerves will get
to ya!
Michael
Wilde - Concordia College
A.
I was put on suicide watch for one of my residents
for a weekend.
UC Davis
A.
One of my residents that became a really good friend
of mine was caught walking down the hallway with a
beer. He wanted me to just let it slide "this
one time" and it was really hard for me to not
give in. I knew that if I didn't handle the situation
right away, I would be forever haunted by it for the
rest of the year. Who was to say how many "just
this once" times would arise later in the year.
Leigh
Ann Lorusso - University of Wisconsin at Whitewater
A.
I had to confront two of my underage residents about
having 18+ bottles of beer in their room. I had just
begun to develop a repoire with them, and I had to
break that because of their mistake. I feel very lucky,
though, that they respected my role after the fact,
even though they were pretty upset at first. I think
what made them start talking to me again was the way
I always said hi to them. They can only not respond
for so long.
Jennifer
Anderson - Southern Methodist University
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