Student Leadership Opportunities

The Department of Housing & Residence Life offers students a variety of ways to develop their leadership skills. Opportunities include:

Resident Assistants
RAs are considered paraprofessional employees of the Department of Housing & Residential Life. They are exceptional students who have demonstrated leadership skills and are willing to take on a great amount of responsibility above their academic load. RAs are responsible for monitoring the safety and well-being of students in their assigned building, as well as providing social and educational programming opportunities that expand the student experience outside the classroom.

To become an RA, students must pass through a rigorous interview process and then complete the RA training program. RAs receive a room and board as compensation for this position.

RAs coordinate community development for a section or a floor in a particular residence hall. RAs answer questions about campus life, interpret and enforce University policy and regulations, handle emergencies, and help out as needed. They are on duty from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the week, with office hours from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. They provide 24-hour coverage through a pager system on weekends. RAs work and interact with on average 40 to 60 residents.  They must be sensitive to the needs, values, and lifestyles of many different people. This requires RAs be open, supportive, and confident. RAs are supervised by professional staff who help with training, provide support, facilitate team building, and conduct one-on-one supervision. Each RA staff consists of four to 20 RAs. As a team, they set the tone for their hall and build community. A checklist of RA responsibilities is shown below.

• Answering questions about the University, the Department of Housing & Residential Life, and the Greater Boston area
• completing administrative tasks, such as room condition forms and work requests
• building community through social and educational activities
• referring students to appropriate services and resources
• serving as a peer counselor
• enforcing policies
• attending fall and spring training sessions, and departmental in-services
• working 4+ hours of proctor duty per week
• holding office hours and performing rounds — the amount of time an RA is on duty varies from staff to staff
• helping open and close the residence halls from semester to semester
• attending weekly staff meetings and individual meetings with a supervisor