Abigail Dunagan, Campus Carrier features editor

Cammie Wilks, Campus Carrier asst. features editor

One of the biggest draws of attending Berry is the LifeWorks program, which allows every student to have an on-campus job. There are many different jobs available, and they can range from working on the grounds crew to writing for the student publications and conducting research. Berry college is a residential college, meaning that most students live on campus. While all LifeWorks jobs play a vital role in the campus community, one of the most important jobs that students can have is to work as a Resident Assistant (RA). RAs are students whose job involves presiding over a student residence hall and fulfilling a multitude of duties, from serving as a student mentor to ensuring the safety of the living spaces. These responsibilities are crucial to the campus, as residence halls are where students will spend most of their time throughout the semester. 

Senior elementary education major Haylee Stephens is currently working as an RA in Centennial Hall, and she has been an RA for different dorms since her sophomore year. She was initially interested in applying for the job because she knew it would be people-oriented, and she wanted to work somewhere she could make an impact in student lives. Centennial Hall is a upperclassmen apartment-style dorm, but Stephens got to work on a freshmen residence hall during her first year of being an RA. 

“It was really sweet to be placed with the freshmen, who just really needed a mentor or someone to ask questions,” Stephens said. “College is new for them. I had just been in that place, and that’s kind of what drew me to apply. I knew I could make an impact in people’s lives.” 

Sophomore pre-nursing major Annie Connors works as an RA on the first floor of Lemley. She lived in the same building last year, and she decided she wanted to stay there and become an RA to inspire freshman like her previous RA had done for her. 

“I really loved my RA last year and thought she was super cool,” Connors said. “I just wanted to help other people out the way she helped me out. I just wanted to be a part of it.” 

Being an RA doesn’t come without its challenges. Shifts at the RA desk can sometimes interrupt students’ schedule, especially during the weekends because an RA must occupy the desk from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Additionally, RAs have to juggle their classes and extracurricular activities, while still going out of their way to be readily available to any student that might need them. Connors manages to take everything in stride, able to juggle a busy life of being an RA, student and soccer player.

“During my desk shift, I’m able to do a bunch of work,” Connors said. “There may be a program or event plan that I have to push back schoolwork for until I’m finished with that, but it’s never been too big of a conflict.”

Many of Berry’s upperclassmen dorms are apartment style, while the underclassman dorms are traditional with communal bathrooms. Although the upperclassmen dorms have separate kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms that RAs need to check for safety, Patel found the freshmen dorms to be more challenging. 

“Freshmen dorms are probably the hardest,” Patel said. “They are all new when they first come in. I just feel like they are starting to adapt, and they are trying to figure out if they want to stay at Berry. We are a big part of their lives, because we are the ones who can try to get them to be involved in programs.”

Although many students aim to live in an apartment style dorm at some point, Stephens found that she made stronger connections with her residents when she worked on traditional halls. Most students prefer to have a private bathroom and kitchen, but traditional halls allow for more interaction between residents. According to Stephens, she enjoyed working in Morgan, an upperclassman traditional hall, because she got to see her residents throughout the week. 

“We had a study area in the middle, and I would see a lot of them cooking or studying,” Stephens said. “It was really awesome that I got to see my residents almost always.”

According to Stephens, job responsibilities fluctuate throughout the year. Move-in and move-out requires the RAs to be constantly available to assist students, and health and safety inspections are a crucial part of ensuring that the dorms are safe for all students. 

“There will be a week where we do health and safety, and that can take a while,” Stephens said. “Doing each individual room in Centennial can take an hour or more. It really depends on what tasks we have to do each week.” 

Between planning events, helping students, working at the RA desk and unlocking doors for those who lock themselves out of their dorms, being an RA is a fun yet time-consuming job. However, it is an undertaking that students are encouraged to apply for. Students applying for the position that become RA’s have the opportunity to connect with other students and assist them on their Berry journey, while gaining valuable working experience.