Are You The Missing Piece?

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Are You The Missing Piece?
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Whats in it for me?

• Benefits of being a Resident Assistant
• Free private room and bathroom in the Residence
  Halls, or room in Cougar Village.
• Bi-weekly paycheck.
• But wait! Theres more!
• The RA position is one of the most challenging
  and rewarding student leadership positions
  available on campus.
• Stands out on resume when applying for future
  positions.
• A chance to improve upon communication, research,
  management, creativity, empathy and analytical
  skills.

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Fun On The Job (It happens)

• Getting to know the residents on a personal
  level.
• Programming
• Theme Duty Nights
• Flashlight tag
• End of the year banquets

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Is this position right for me?

• Use these questions to evaluate yourself?
• What am I looking to take away from this
  position? Is it financial or monetary benefit?
• What will I bring to this position?
• What has my RA done for me, or those around me?
• How do I react in emergency situations?
• Will I be able to make hard decisions?
• What is the fishbowl effect?

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So you want to be an RA?

• Basic Requirements
• At least 2 letters of reference.
• All five essays completed.
• All portions of the application completed.
• Attended ONE of six RA Info Sessions.
• Lived in University Housing for TWO semesters.
• GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Completed an online job referral at Student
  Employment.
• Be in good financial, academic, and disciplinary
  standing with the University.

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Stories from the front lines!

• The names have been changed to protect the
  innocent, but the facts are all real.

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School A college in Virginia

• OOPS! Well, I'm a new RA and have been trying to
  get to know my residents. To do this, I've been
  trying to get a lot of face time with them. I was
  going door to door to say "HI!" and to tell the
  residents about an upcoming program. I knocked on
  the FIRST door and heard, "Come in. No! Wait! Who
  is it?" I paused and said my name. Then I heard,
  "Um....Just a minute! About two minutes later
  they came to the door and would only open it part
  of the way. We chatted for a minutes and they
  gave me some excuse about not being dressed,
  etc... I finished up with them and moved to the
  next door down. The two girls I had just spoke to
  went into their suitemates room. Mind you, the
  door was WIDE open and I was only about 10 feet
  away from it. And I hear, "Oh my god! You guys
  won't believe what just happened. We were sitting
  there studying and the RA came to the door. We
  only had like 6 or 7 candles burning!" (which is
  a violation at our school). She went on to say,
  "Yeah. And I spilled one of them all over me as
  we tried to hide it. I went to the door and I had
  candle wax all over my shoes, hands, and sleeves!
  I couldn't believe it!" Well, I couldn't believe
  it either! Hadn't they ever heard of SHUTTING THE
  DOOR?! I walked back around the corner and said,
  "Hi ladies!" I thought one of them was going to
  pass out!

Moral Be careful what you say because you dont
know whos listening.
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School University of Illinois

• I had gone to bed early because I had pulled an
  all-nighter the night before. I must have been
  super tired or something, because I forgot to put
  on any pants! well, wouldn't you know, but
  someone pulled the fire alarm that night. So, i
  jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway to get
  my residents to evacuate the building...well,
  nobody would leave the hallway cause they were
  too busy laughing at me!! there i was standing in
  a t-shirt and underwear! it was very funny. now
  every time i walk down the hallway i get cat
  calls and everything!! my residents will never
  let me forget that one )

Moral Always be aware of your surroundings!
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School UCLA

• One day I was on duty responding to an emergency
  call. When I arrived there was a girl sitting on
  the floor with a bloody gash on her head.
  Concerned, I radioed for the EMT's (Emergency
  Medical Team). While I was waiting for them to
  arrive I asked some of her friends what happened.
  One the friends proceeded to tell me that they
  were bored and decided to make a bet. The bet was
  that the girl could not jump from the top of one
  bunked bed to the top of the other lofted bed on
  the other side of the room. Well, the girl
  succeeded in making the jump but miscalculated
  her velocity and acceleration due to the fact
  that she hit her head on the wall which caused
  her to fall backwards out of the bed. Imagine me
  trying to be calm and reassuring when I just
  wanted to explode with laughter. When the EMT's
  and police finally arrived, I went into the
  stairway for a second and laughed hysterically.

Moral Always remain professional even if you
want to yell, or laugh, you cannot.
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Ice Breakers That Really Are Fun!

• COMIC STRIP CHAOS
• Rules
• Each participant takes a turn at picking a comic
  frame out of the large container. After the
  entire group has each chosen one, the
  participants begin to search for others with the
  same comic strip sequence. After the
  participants have found everyone in their group,
  they must arrange themselves so that the sequence
  of frames are in chronological order to form the
  comic strip correctly. Upon completion of
  sequence, the newly formed group sits down
  together. Great game to break large group into
  smaller groups.

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Tips for the Process

• Be yourself.
• No one likes a phony. Be truthful in your
  responses because if how you behave and what you
  say do not match itll show.
• Be confident.
• Its only an interview. On the job youll be
  faced with much tenser situations.
• Be social.
• As an RA one of your main goals is to build
  community.
• Think about what you think a good leader should
  be.
• Do you fit your description?
• What can you change to better fit that
  description?
• Re-evaluate that description periodically.
• Be a team player.

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Display Created By

• Ankur Patel
• Resident Assistant
• Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville