As Stevens students finish applying for next year’s Residential Assistant position, I wanted to share a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like to be a Residential Assistant in the Office of Residence Life & Dining. Residential Assistants (RAs) are selected members of the undergraduate Stevens community who live on campus to help build community within their assigned area, advise floor members, and ensure the safety and maintenance of their designated area.
Being an RA comes with responsibilities and benefits. Remember the poster boards on your residential floor that you see every single day and how they change every month? RAs have to update their boards at the start of the month and include an educational aspect. These boards can range from topics such as seasonal depression to how to help improve your GPA.
Your RA will host events every month and sometimes collaborate with other RAs or the Resident Hall Association (RHA) to host community-building events.
RAs serve as mandated reporters to ensure the safety and conduct of residential areas. They can deal with incidents regarding mental health, Title IX, noise and alcohol violations, and other emergency situations.
The perks that come with the job include fully covered housing and the inclusion of the terabyte meal plan.
Now, as much as this news-sounding article feels like a lecture about what being an RA is, I wanted to go further and get an in-person experience of what being an RA really means.
Throughout the entire month, The Office of Residence Life & Dining hosted four events for the 2027-2028 RA position. I attended the October 7 meeting to hear firsthand about being an RA. This was also my first time seeing one of the Community Directors (known as CDs, formerly named Residential Directors), as well as more RAs outside of the ones I usually see in my dorm.
Elson Martinez, Community Director for Harries and Clark Tower, explained that RAs can be placed in either the First-Year Residential Experience (FYRE), Harries or Clark Tower, or in Living Learning Communities (LLCs). LLCs include the Lor-El Center, 1036 Park, the Pinnacle Scholars floor, and more.
They continued to mention that the position encompasses meetings, mandatory training, working with other CDs, and that they are flexible if you have other commitments such as internships, co-ops, or research.
Further interested in learning about the role, I spoke with Joseph Brennan (2/4 Computer Engineering major), an RA for Davis Hall. When asked about seeing the personal growth of his freshmen residents, he found the journey fulfilling. “You get to see people. Some people who are a little shy start to come out of their shell,” Brennan said. “Some people who aren’t used to living on their own for the first time become more independent. People who are excited realize their expectations, and it’s a growing experience; it’s a very fulfilling experience, and a lot of the time, through their growth, like the growth of your residents, you can grow yourself too. So I think not only is it fulfilling for them, but also fulfilling for you.”
Brennan also highlighted his own experience as an RA.
“You think I’m grown up, I’m mature, I’m very responsible,” Brennan stated. “But then just through my time at college and my time like developing as a new campus leader, you kind of realize like, hey, like I’m gaining more responsibility. I’m becoming more mature, and you get to a point where you realize that despite thinking that you’ve got everything figured out in the moment, there’s always more to learn and there are always more ways to grow, and similarly, there are always more ways to mature and develop. So I think that being in the RA position really exemplifies how you should take a growth mindset to life because things can always get better despite your first thought.”
