"It's My RA!"

It is four am, Sunday morning and the phone rings. Brianna Warne emerges from a dream to answer the phone, for what she thinks is a lock out. Emma Twomey, the primary RA, who is at the hospital already, informs Brianna that she too will need to accompany an intoxicated resident to the hospital. Four in the morning, on secondary – Brianna cannot believe it.

The life of a Resident Assistant is the life few people really know about. On Temple University’s campus there are almost two hundred RAs, two hundred students that assume the responsibility of twenty to sixty residents. To prepare they spend almost two weeks of their summer training- for everything- before the residents arrive.

The irony of training is it will never fully prepare the RAs for the job. At an RA meet and greet for this year’s hiring, one RA warned that anything can happen on the job. During his first year a student died in the building. No amount of training can help with a death of a resident. Daniel Butsko, a 21 year-old senior and second- year RA, said, “You do get trained in training about everything under the sun, but you really don’t know how it will go until you experience it and practice the skills.”

Ask anyone what an RA does and most people will probably tell say: RAs bust parties, take intoxicated residents to the hospital and do lock outs at two in the morning. There is not much to it. After all RAs are only on duty one day of the week.

In reality, RAs perform tasks that would make most adults shutter. They are friends, mentors, authority figures, students, and support systems; they wear many hats.

Peter Cason, a 21 year-old junior and second- year RA said, “I didn’t know there was so much behind the scenes work that goes into the job and a lot of residents don’t see that. When I first was put into the job a lot of things came at me and I just had to deal with it.”

That behind the scenes work includes duty logs, decorating, planning programs, moving residents in and out, making bulletin boards, being on call, being accessible to residents and even dealing with crisis. Accepting an RA job changes one’s life forever. Immediately the newly hired RA realizes he or she is no longer a normal student. Butsko said, “ I definitely don’t think RAs are normal students. You are held to a higher standard and have to be more cognoscente about being an example.”

He also added, “You never know when an emergency could happen that messes with your academic life – I put my residents before my needs in some instances.”

Last year Residential Life had 5 hundred applicants for less than 1 hundred open positions. There is a written application and a weekend of group interviews and solo interviews to figure out which applicants will succeed. Before the application is due there are meet & greets with a few RAs for applicants to get a better understanding of the job. This is when the applicants get a real glimpse of what happens behind closed doors.

The job is 24/7; you live where you work and sometimes that causes problems. Cason said, “The biggest challenge is when you have a bad day and you don’t want to deal with anyone. It’s tough doing that because you want to make yourself available for your residents. I’ll close my door but if someone knocks I have to put on a strong face.”

Even when RAs are not on duty, they still get knocks on the door. Residents tend to forget that RAs are students and normal college kids too. The boundaries become blurred sometimes putting the RA in a position more like a parent than peer. Through it all, Residential Life’s goal is to help residents transition to independence. Not developing an emotional connection with residents is impossible. Some RAs even say their floors are their children. This obviously creates conflicts.

If you ask Emma Twomey, a 19 year-old sophomore and first-year RA, she will say she hit the jackpot. When she says jackpot she means the most hospital runs in the semester amongst her staff. One night, after receiving a call from security about an intoxicated resident, Twomey walked to the lobby unaware it would be a night she would never forget. The resident was throwing up in the lobby and even defecated in his chair. EMS had to take him out on a stretcher because he could not even get up. Later it was discovered the resident, who was also on drugs, was a cocaine dealer. Weeks later the same resident ran passed security after being banned from the building. Twomey witnessed the incident while doing homework at the front desk.

This would make one wonder, is free room and board, a free meal plan and a $200 stipend for books as compensation worth all the hassle?

Brianna Warne, a 21-year old senior and second year RA, remembers last year on her birthday her residents knocked on her door at midnight. When she opened the door they were holding a cupcake for her. It is moments like this that make the trips to the hospital worth it.

Residents also provide comic relief. Whenever an RA knocks on a suspicious door during the weekends there is a long pause followed by, “Guys, quiet! It’s my RA!” But nothing compares to when Warne had to explain to Temple Police that a resident was not 22 years old and his ID was fake.  

When a sense of responsibility forms, sometimes the RA feels obligated to help a resident. The RA transforms into a lion protecting its cub. And protecting up to 50 cubs from the wild is tiring. This is when RAs have to remind themselves why they are doing the job.

Whenever Cason feels overwhelmed in the job he reminds himself why he loves his job. His favorite part is being able to meet new people, especially those he probably would have never interacted with. Cason said, “To know you can help them grow academically, physically and emotionally is the greatest reward.” There are a plethora of back-stories RAs get to hear and learn from.

The benefits of the job are not just for the residents. RAs experience a remarkable change, even in their first months on the job. Cason said, “ If I could see myself last year, first semester, I might not recognize myself.” The rewards of the job are innumerable. Maturity, organization skills, increased creativity- RAs lovingly refer to this as arts& crafts – time management, and professional development all benefit RAs. Butsko said, “You cannot get another experience like this. There is no other job that teaches you how to handle conflict and deal with people. I know that no matter what happens, it will be an invaluable experience in the real world.”

The family atmosphere is one of the greatest rewards of the job. In times of chaos RAs lean on each other for support. The time during training allows the family bond to grow. With 14-hour days, for close to three weeks with the same people it is impossible not to become close. It creates the foundation needed for the year. Butsko said, “Res Life is one big happy family, dysfunctional like any other family but I love it.”

RA supervisors are a Residential Director, a Resident Coordinator, an Associate Director and other directors. The RD runs a resident hall and is working on a Ph.D with some experience in higher education. The RC is in charge of programming and community building in the residence hall and is a graduate student also with some higher education experience. Associate Directors oversee certain buildings and Directors oversee certain aspects of Residential Life such as student behavior. ADs and directors have a Masters or Ph.D in higher education. Pro- Life staff members of Residential Life were not able to comment about the RA life.

After everything is said, when it comes down to it Butsko is correct in saying, “Overall unless you are an RA you don’t really understand what it is.”