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WELCOME BACK!
o Whether you are just starting to get geared
up for a new year, or are working on finishing up the summer term,
welcome to Fall 2001! I
hope you are excited for this year, and looking forward to making
an impact in the lives of the students you work with!
Make
it a great year!
Dan
Oltersdorf
ResidentAssistant.com
WELCOME LETTER FROM JOAN SCHMIDT, PRESIDENT
OF ACUHO-I
With the upcoming year’s challenges and
opportunities in mind, I asked Joan Schmidt, the president of
ACUHO-I, to write a welcome letter to you. Read on…
August 2001 - Welcome Back!
It is with great pleasure that I write this
letter of welcome to you for fall 2001! Can you believe summer is
over already?
As president of the Association of College
and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) I
certainly understand and appreciate the very difficult task each
of you has undertaken as a paraprofessional staff member in
Residence Life. I am confident this year that you will have
countless opportunities to make a difference in the lives of
residence hall students throughout the world.
Many of you will be the main reason students
remain in their hall or apartment, have a wonderful collegiate
experience, and may even serve as a lifeline for someone. Whether
you are providing them an outlet for their frustration, showing
off their grades on your bulletin board, or just smiling as you
walk down the hall – you are making a difference and for that I
salute you.
Often you are making a difference when you
least expect to. Other times you may believe what you are doing
has made all the difference, only to find out later that it
seemingly had no effect. Fear not! It may be weeks, months or even
years later that person may reflect on what happened and realize
the difference you made.
The ACUHO-I organization realizes, recognizes
and reflects on the difference you make throughout the entire
year. We salute you for all that you will do this year and in the
future. I am hopeful many of you will consider residence life as a
career. It certainly can be a rewarding experience and no two days
will ever be the same.
You will notice in future editions of
ResidentAssistant.com that many housing professionals will be
submitting articles to this excellent website in a section
concerning Careers in Housing. Perhaps one of the articles will
make a difference to you and will spark an interest in this very
worthy profession.
In the meantime, thank you for all you will
do this year. Enjoy your time as a residence life staff member. No
other job will be as difficult, time consuming or rewarding.
Have a great year!
Joanie Schmidt
ACUHO-I President
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VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR STARTING OFF THE YEAR:
o Bulletin boards – Find a great list of
ideas, as well as boards you can download and use as a basis for
your own board. (These should just be a foundation for your
board… you still need to add your own creative flair!) http://www.residentassistant.com/programming/bulletinboard/
o Door Decorations (Door Tags)
– Here is a
list of ideas collected off of the listserve and emailed to the
site. Have fun seeing what other ideas people have come up with! http://www.residentassistant.com/programming/doortags/
o Use the message boards!
– This is a great
way for you to interact with other RAs and Professionals all over
the world! Be sure to search before you ask a question to see if
there is already a thread with that topic. http://www.residentassistant.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi
o
Social Programs – As you have certainly learned
in training, the first 6 weeks of the first semester
are the most critical time in building community on
your floor. The first couple of weeks are especially
crucial! Socials are an excellent way to get your
residents to know one another. Check out ideas for
social programs at http://www.residentassistant.com/programming/social/Default.htm
o
First Floor Meeting - For some fun icebreakers
and name games for your first floor meeting, visit
the games page at: http://www.residentassistant.com/games.htm
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INSPIRATION FOR RESIDENT ASSISTANTS:
o Many of you have obtained copies of
“Inspiration for Resident Assistants” since it was first
published last July. If you have not yet obtained your copy or
copies for your staff, visit http://www.residentassistant.com/inspiration
for more information, including samples from the book.
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SITE CHANGES AND UPDATES:
o
Listservs – Because of the closure of
ListBot, I had to switch both the RA listserv and the
Professionals Listserv over to another service. Hopefully this
will not impact you if you are subscribed to either one. If you
are having trouble posting to the list, visit topica.com to log
into your account. (if you were signed up already, your email
address was moved to topica.com)
o Newsletter Update – Some questions have
arisen about the status of this newsletter, since it was hosted on
the free ListBot server as well. I am moving it to a paid service,
so you will experience no break in service. (Just keep on visiting
GradSchools.com via the links on the site, which helps with the
costs of running the site. Each click through to their site
provides important revenue to pay for hosting fees and other costs)
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JOB
CENTER! - Find and post jobs in
residence life and housing!
I am
excited to announce the NEW HigherEdJobs.com-ResidentAssistant.com
Job Center! This will be an excellent place to search for jobs, as
well as post job openings in residence life and housing. Watch for more
information coming soon! http://www.residentassistant.com/jobs
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COMING SOON – CAREER INFORMATION!
o Career Center
You will soon find be
able to find information about pursuing a career in housing and
residence life on the ACUHO-I-ResidentAssistant.com Career Center
page. You will find information about careers in this field, as
well as valuable information on how to enter this exciting career
path!
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CALL FOR NEWSLETTER AND SITE ARTICLES
o With thousands of RAs and professional
staff visiting ResidentAssistant.com on a regular basis, it is a
great opportunity for you to share your experience and expertise.
If you are interested in writing an article for the website
or for the monthly newsletter, please email via
the contact page
Thanks for continuing
to support this resource by submitting your ideas and information,
as well as supporting the sponsors on the site!
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IF
YOU FOUND THIS NEWSLETTER AND RESIDENTASSISTANT.COM USEFUL, PLEASE
TELL THE REST OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS ABOUT IT!
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