A number of departments and institutions have recognized that as the roles of residential education staff have evolved and technology has advanced, many of the assumptions upon which training programs were previously built no longer hold true. For example, resident assistant and student staff training programs typically occur in August, before residence halls open for the... Continue Reading →
Believing that community building happens naturally and doesn't require intervention is a myth. This "myth" is often not one that is widely believed by most professionals that work in residence life, but rather those that work outside of it. What many individuals do not realize is the amount of work and intentionality that goes into... Continue Reading →
Student affairs practitioners, and particularly those in residence life, often have a problem with overworking. It's not hard to understand why. Many of us enter this field because we were superstar over-involved undergraduate student leaders. We are also a profession of "helpers." We do this work "for the students" and that sometimes means that we have to... Continue Reading →
We've all heard it before: Residents won't attend a program, particularly an educational program, unless there is food. While I'm not naive to the fact that food is a great draw, I do believe that we rely on food too much and that it often gets in the way of educating residents. Don't get me wrong. I love... Continue Reading →
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