The RA selection process: Good luck to all this year’s applicants!

February 11, 2013 in Uncategorized

My favorite team: the DU RA/CA staff.

I’ve always liked RA* selection time, simply because watching 60+ Drury University freshman and sophomores step up to the plate to be an RA and show everyone else what they’re capable of is awesome and heartwarming. Plus, now that I’m a senior (and thus not reapplying to be an RA, since Drury isn’t on my agenda next year), I finally get to see the whole thing from a more relaxed perspective.
* But Molly, what the heck is an RA? An RA is a resident assistant – I’ve been one for three years. Seven to eight of us live in each of the three dorms on campus (I live in lovely Wallace Hall, right on Drury Lane), and we do a ton of stuff:
  • We help residents get their mail in the evening.
  • We know what to do if toilets explode.
  • We know how to get the situation under control when tornadoes and fires and other scary things happen.
  • We throw fun parties and make you feel at home.
  • We can help you handle your roommate conflicts, your academic stress, your depression, or your other problems when you need someone to talk to – and if we can’t, we can help you find someone who can.
  • We’re trained to save your life.

And the list goes on.

Forgive this mega-obvious statement, but when you first go to college, you become faced with the choice to get involved. This is especially true at Drury, where your experience runs explicitly on the ‘you get out what you put in’ rule. While most students do get involved here in some way, some groups and organizations are easier to get in to than others. RA/CA staff (alongside ENACTUS, formerly SIFE, I’d say) is one of the hardest student groups to get into on campus, and the scrutiny/potential rejection of it can be a tough experience. However, to any RA/CA applicants reading this, I’ve got something to say to you before you find out whether you’ve been hired later this week:

Being an RA/CA is an amazing opportunity and defined my personal Drury experience. But whether or not it works out, let this be your mantra: everything happens the way it’s supposed to happen. Not being an RA will open up other doors – I promise. Something big here will define your experience, and being an RA may not be it even if you are hired. After the results come out, give yourself some time to feel what you gotta feel, but go treat yourself afterward. Take a shopping trip or buy a frozen treat for working so hard. Also, call your parents, because they’re proud of you.

For a first-hand account of what it’s like to go through the RA/CA selection process at Drury, check out Ryan’s blog post, and keep your fingers crossed for Drury students putting themselves out there to make a difference as an RA!

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