From room inspections to fun hall events, Resident Assistants (RA’s) work to create a safe and inclusive community within Holy Cross. While some students may believe that RA’s are unwelcome and a nuisance, the truth is that many students are supported and uplifted by their RA every semester.
Despite their hard work, RA’s oftentimes do not receive recognition by the student body, and are even degraded at times. In fact, with the creation of the Remote RA program, one student felt the need to personally attack remote and on-campus RA’s, likening the program to a “car crash.” Because of this blatant and ignorant attack, it is even more necessary to uplift these silent heroes and bring a new perspective concerning RA’s role at Holy Cross.
RA’s play an integral role in maintaining the physical safety of the Holy Cross community. Whenever there is a safety concern, one can expect an RA to be first at the scene. They are on call overnight in case of a late-night emergency, and they coordinate with Public Safety to resolve dangerous situations.
While the commitment to physical safety is an RA’s number one priority, RA’s also play an enormous role in creating an inclusive community and caring for the mental and emotional health of their residents. The ability to dive into new social environments is hard for some students, and RA’s have proven to be valuable resources to help residents transition to college life. Let’s explore the experiences of those whose RA positively impacted their lives and, in some cases, even inspired them to become RA’s themselves.
One current HRA states that his freshman year RA “offered a safe space for people not super extraverted.” This particular action of supporting those who don’t fit in is what inspired him to become an RA in the first place. The same HRA’s favorite aspect of the role is “developing friendships with residents and helping residents in need of support.”
A Sophomore Remote RA spoke about what inspired her to become an RA, “My first-year RA was such a community builder! She worked hard to make my first-year experience productive and fun; she made the 4th floor Mulledy vault feel like home! Even on a virtual platform, I'd love to be able to give my residents those same memories of community!” Her goal as a first-year remote RA is to “bring people together and facilitate the normal get-to-know-yous that would be happening on campus” and to “make everyone feel welcome and supported.”
A Sophomore resident says that her HRA last year “inspired me” and “convinced me to sign up for hall council and get more involved in our building.” Looking back on her first year experience at Holy Cross, she states, “I was extremely thankful for it because it allowed me to make friends with people I may not have otherwise met…”
As a person that doesn’t easily fit in myself, moving to Holy Cross last year was hard for me. Oftentimes, all I wanted to do was leave Holy Cross for good; I felt so different and separated from everyone around me. I was a Oneness Pentecostal submerged into a Catholic world, and my unfamiliarity with Catholicism made me feel nervous and somewhat inferior. Also, I was extremely close to my family back home in Tennessee, and being separated from them was extremely difficult.
I didn’t know anyone at Holy Cross. But there were a select few who noticed me on the sidelines and included me. Most of them were RA’s. My HRA made it her mission to ensure that I felt included. Two friends of mine who were RA’s also went out of their way to include me in their already-formed friend groups. That commitment to those on the margins is what inspired me to do the same and become an RA myself.
This semester, COVID-19, which has prevented many of us from being on campus, made achieving this mission all the more challenging. . In response, a few RA’s volunteered to become “Remote RA’s” to help keep the sense of community alive through this hard time. The Remote RA program seeks to accomplish this through planning fun virtual events, facilitating one-on-ones, and continuing to be a resource for all students.
Despite what some may say, the role RA’s play in the lives of residents is definitely not an unwelcome part of campus life. Some may think that RA’s are just that annoying knock on the door, but that could not be farther from the truth. To those who’ve struggled adjusting to Holy Cross or struggled with loneliness, RA’s are heroes. And, for the most part, these heroes don’t take any credit. They do it, not for applause, but because they have a passion for helping others, especially those who feel on the margins. This mission carries on whether we are in person or remote.