The RA Interview as seen by Hall Directors

Each spring, a process masked in secrecy and full of wonder, similar in some ways to the Papal Conclave, takes place and an aspiring group of Southeast residence hall students set out on the journey in hopes of being selected as a Resident Assistant (RA). Over these past few weeks this process has been playing out and while we are not ready to send up the white smoke (read up on the voting for the Pope at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_conclave to understand) I wanted to share some insight for those students who are either in the process now or thinking of trying to be a RA in the future. Special thanks to Delaney Foster, Myers Hall Director, and Michael Roehlk, Dearmont Hall Director, for their reflections on the reflect on the Resident Assistant Interview Process and their thoughts on this critical process.

Delaney Foster, Myers HD:

Each spring an exciting and exhausting event arrives, and like the spring, it brings new possibilities. The RAs are the lifeblood of the on campus living experience  and each year we search for and hire new RAs to replace those who have graduated or moved on to other opportunities, and each year the process is slightly different.  One thing never changes- the candidates are always nervous and anxious. They come to our interview tables, full of dreams and hopes, and they tell us how the RA position will help make them a leader, a speech pathologist, a lawyer, a teacher, or a politician, or any of the other life goals of our incredibly driven students. The best part is that each of them is correct, being an RA will make them a better version of themselves, and the interview process is just the beginning of that road.

You will not find a more welcoming or encouraging table of interviewers than the Hall Directors. There is something comforting about the knowledge that each interviewer genuinely cares about each candidate's growth, development, and opinions. We honestly wish that more students knew this; surely it would decrease the sheer terror that many of them obviously feel. If only they knew that we are looking for the best parts of the candidates, not the worst, and that we all want them to be themselves and share their hopes with us. 

Like these candidates, I once ran from my residence hall, terrified of getting lost, being late, looking unprofessional, balancing the truth with humility, and most of all, being afraid of actually getting the position. I feared someone believing in me enough to give me the job and wanted to reward that trust with hard work and passion. I did get the job, and the position shaped every part of who I have become. Every Hall Director has a similar story, and each year we use the memories of our own fear and apprehension to welcome and listen to the newest group of candidates. Our message to you is, "be not afraid", apply for the position and don’t hide who and what you are.

Michael Roehlk, Dearmont HD:

The process for us Hall Directors can be long and tiresome, but we do it because we believe in the process and being able to see as many hopefuls RAs as possible to gain insight and build the best staff we can.  The process begins in the summer months when we review everything and really try to create a dynamic group process and interview cycle to find the real future leaders in the community.  Come February we take time from our buildings to spend roughly ten hours a day interviewing candidates.  We take this time because the RA position is so important to us that we want the best of the best.  We want to see what kind of creativity you can muster in regards to programming, we want to see how you work in a group and how you understand group dynamics and teambuilding.  We want to see a little of your personality- we need a good mix of introverts and extroverts.  We also want to see if you possess the ethics, empathy, and integrity to be one of the fortunate few Southeast RA’s.  The process often times takes us out of our buildings; in fact I’m writing this blog at 11pm after I rescheduled the interviews for candidates that Mother Nature just didn’t permit us to interviews because of poor weather.  

Even with these long days and often sleepless nights, I know that this is one of the reasons I love my job.  For these weeks I have the privilege to sit in a room with my colleagues and see the leaders at Southeast emerge.  The process at this point is far from over, we will still interview the retuning RA’s and then have selection day (D-Day as I call it),  but I’m confident that in the end we will have picked the best candidates for the next year.  I can empathize for those who may not be selected but I think that all those who apply will learn something about themselves and if they truly want to be a leader in the hall they will continue to grow as people. and reapply again.  I have seen some people apply four times before they are hired, showing true dedication.  

 

As Delany and Michael both note, the process is one that is meant to help us find talented students and yes, the process is time consuming. While there is no perfect test for future RAs, I am confident the process we have in place is one that provides a good way for students to showcase their talents and interest and provides the Office of Residence Life with an effective way to select RAs. I wish the best for all those, new and returning RAs, who are hoping to join the Office of Residence Life team next fall and I am sincerely thankful I did not have to compete against such talent as we have today when I was a RA candidate, “way back in the day.”  

The Success Story that is Emerging Leaders

I am fortunate to have many great memories of my time at Southeast. Many of these were with outstanding faculty and some great mentors outside the classroom that all helped shape my personal and professional development. Now, many years later, some of these same program and opportunities that were afforded to me have been placed in my care as the Assistant Vice President for Student Success. This week, I met with one of the professional staff member within my areas, Megan Randolph, Coordinator for Leadership Development, to learn about how well our leadership programs are doing.

Megan shared a great amount of positive information, but one that stood out to me was our Emerging Leaders program.  I participated in this program in 1994, as did my wife Tonya. Now, almost 20 years later, I was hearing about the success of the program and how it is still impacting students at Southeast. One of the items that caught my attention was Megan’s efforts to assess the program and its impact on students. Assessment in student affairs can be a challenge, as isolating the independent variable can be difficult and since we are working with students you never have identical control and test groups. Even with these limits, there is solid evidence of the program’s impacts. Listed below are some of the items that showed the greatest change and where the change was statistically significant level was at a .05 level.  Note: Questions are on a 5 point scale, 1 being seldom or rarely, 5 being very frequently. 

Question #1- I am comfortable when there is no plan or instructions.

o   Pre-test Average= 3

o   Post-test Average= 3.8

o   Change= Statistically significant improvement of .8 or 20%

Question #11- I analyze all the facts and information available before making a decision.

o   Pre-test Average= 3.7

o   Post-test Average= 4.45

o   Change= Statistically significant improvement of .75 or 18.75%

Questions #19- When I delegate responsibilities to others, I allow them to complete the task alone.

o   Pre-test Average= 3

o   Post-test Average= 3.9

o   Change= Statistically significant improvement of .9 or 22.5%

Question #20- I specifically set aside time in my weekly schedule to study.

o   Pre-test Average= 2.6

o   Post-test Average= 4

o   Change= Statistically significant improvement of 1.4 or 35%

Question #23- I provide opportunities for others to take on leadership responsibilities.

o   Pre-test Average= 3.2

o   Post-test Average= 4.1

o   Change= Statistically significant improvement of .9 or 22.5%

There are improvements in other areas; however, these five are highlighted to provide an example of the success of the Emerging Leaders program. I think as an institution we should be proud of this program, one that dates back to the 1980s and one that shows both qualitative and quantitative evidence of its success. I have a personal bias, I think question 11 about critical thinking is the one we should be  proudest of, as this is one area we need more of in our culture (just one person’s humble opinion).

My first month with Greek Life

One month ago, I assumed my new role at Southeast as Assistant Vice President which includes a major increase in involvement with our Greek students. It is no secret that students in large groups can on occasion make poor choices and for Greek students the easily identifiable letters they wear make them even easier to pick out. After all, the person who has no previous experience with Greek organizations cannot tell the different between letters of the Greek alphabet and Egyptian hieroglyphics.  Sure Greek students are easy targets and sometimes the criticism is warranted. As I shared at a recent meeting with some of Greek students, if you are going to be Greek you need to have thick skin. 

After a full month on the job, there are two important observations about the Greek community at Southeast I want to share. First is academics and the second is the maturity of Greek student leaders.

Most students are at Southeast for their education. While not a perfect measure, grades are a pretty good measure of how well one is accomplishing this goal. All Greek organizations have education at the top of their expectations for their members. If this is in fact the first priority of Greek organizations then the grades of students in the Greek system are a good measure of how well Greek students are meeting this critical expectation. Overall, Greeks have a 3.03 grade point average for the Fall 2012 semester, which is higher than the all University undergraduate grade point average. Simply put, the typical Greek student is a 3.0+ student at Southeast. The Greek women should be even more proud as the all sorority average is a 3.2 grade point average.  Greeks are often labeled with some crude stereotypes, however, the numbers show that no matter what claims are made about Greeks and their outside the classroom activities, they are getting the job done in the classroom. 

The last weekend in January, 25 Greek student leaders, Christine Loy, Steve Backer, and myself met at Touch of Nature in Southern Illinois to talk about Greek Life at Southeast and what we can collectively do to improve the Greek system. As we left the retreat a number of my beliefs/thoughts about the students within our Greek system were confirmed:

• Greek students know what is happening in their system and they have ideas on how to address these challenges. 
• There is a need for better trust between our Greek students and the University. This is a process that takes some time, but is built upon being upfront about the reality of what is happening on and off campus. Simply arguing for risk elimination is pointless; risk mitigation/reduction is the real goal. 
• There is real talent within the Greek system. Some of it is seen daily by students in very formal leadership roles, others is best observed at programs such as the Greek leadership retreat.
• Everyone may not always believe it, but Dr. Dobbins and Dr. Below recognize, respect, and appreciate the critical role and level of service the Greek system provides to Southeast Missouri State University and the local community.
• The University and Greeks need to partner together to better market Greek Life. There is a great story to tell inside Greek Life and with the help of the University (Admissions, First Step, SMD, tours, publications, etc.) we can provide a more accurate picture of what being Greek at Southeast is about. 

One month in and I am looking forward to what the rest of the semester holds. We have Greek Week in a few months and it promises to be another great experience for our students. I still recall my first Greek Sing as a student. Anyone else remember, “I can show you the world” theme song to Aladdin?  That was a Greek Sign skit!

I need a roommate... hall... room - How will I know where I live???

Each year there are certain things we in residence life we can expect for our new students (those who have not lived on campus before). Roommate questions, can I bring a car if I am a new student, how far are my classes from my hall, and the very real issue of where will I be living. Each fall these questions are asked by a few new incoming students, but as the spring semester gets going, the questions become more and more common. To help everyone understand our room process, I want to share some details and help everyone know what to expect between now and the fall semester. 

Housing assignments are made based on a date driven process. Simply put, the sooner you turned in your housing contract and housing deposit, the better chance you have to get into the hall you prefer. Please note, we don’t guarantee specific spaces to anyone! We do our best to honor preferences, but the volume of people who want to live on campus prevents this. Based upon numbers from 1/12/13 we have 188 students with housing contracts that were received by our priority date of December 1 who have Towers North as their first hall preference. There are about 260 beds in Towers North, so people with contracts after December 1 have a lower probability for getting Towers North than someone with a November contract date. As of December 1, there were almost 500 students with an active housing contract. This does not mean we have run out of space for people, but merely demonstrates that people start signing up for on campus living early. Sometimes a student or parent will say to me in March or April that they thought they were still early in the process, I have to share the unfortunate news that by March/April there are well over a 1,000 students with active housing contracts ahead of them. For comparison purposes, the first housing contract was received on October 1, 2012 for next fall. 

We begin in the middle of the spring semester allowing students with early contact dates, meaning PRIOR to December 1, to start selecting their rooms online. If you have ever booked an airline ticket online or seen how you can change your seat when you check in at an airport, you this gives you some idea about our process. You have the ability to pull in your roommate when you choose your hall and room. So if you turned in your housing contact in November, which hundreds did, then you could go online (we’ll be sending you the instructions on how to do this) and you select your room in the hall you prefer and then also select your roommate by adding their name into the other bed(s) for that room. Please note, we allow students to preference their room and roommate. We do not permit students to choose suitemates, next door neighbors, or other assignment choices. For example, each year there is at least one request that someone want’s their best friend in a room on the same floor, but not their room. Your ability to preference your hall, room, and roommate are specific to you and cannot be used to place students in other rooms. Sorry! I know sometimes people want to pre-position friends around the floors, but I strongly believe part of college is about meeting new people and our assignment process helps facilitate this. I will blog later about the danger of selecting your best friend as a roommate!  

After we go through the self-assign process for students who submitted their contacts early, we then begin making room assignments for all students. In general, a majority of students have their room and roommate assignment made by the university, so if you did not turn in your contact early or you don’t know who your roommate is, DON’T PANIC. You are in the majority! We look at your building and roommate preference information and then try to match you with someone similar, but not identical, to you. This is why it is critical that you be honest with your roommate preference questions. If you are a slob, own it. Don’t claim you are a neat freak and then hope by having a neat roommate you will become a cleaner person. You just might be at the beginning of a roommate conflict! Don’t use your new roommate as your tutor or life coach, they have their own problems and expecting to find a roommate who exercises to help get you in shape is a terrible way to start off as roommates. 

In the end, we know where you live matters… but what matters MORE is who you live with. I will talk about that in the coming weeks.