Student Dorm Assitants Offer Aid and Mentorship to Residents

A first-year girl living in the Quad who was not doing well in school approached Devin Cromartie one day. The student asked Cromartie, a senior biology major and a two-year resident assistant in the Quad, a question: "Will you be my mentor?" 

Cromartie knew she could be an excellent role model to the young woman since she could help her with science classes and she knew that this student wanted to be a doctor. She smiled at the worried young woman with a scared look in her eyes and said, "Sure. I will be your mentor."

Within the dormitories, graduate and resident assistants are the people behind the scenes who coordinate events and nurture students in the dormitories. They act as the backbone of dorms by striving to maintain their family-like atmospheres.

The dormitory assistants aide in making sure that students are comfortable at the university. To make them feel even more comfortable, Cromartie encourages her residents to join organizations on campus. She develops a peer relationship with her residents, in order for them to view her as a big sister rather than a parent.

For Kenalia Harris, a junior sports medicine major, this school year will be her first  as a resident assistant. She already has plans in motion to make her residents feel right at home.

"My idea is to try and unify the residents on both my floor and in our dorm," Harris said. Harris will be a resident assistant in the Harriet Tubman Quadrangle, known affectionately as the Quad.

Harris wants to take on the leadership role but she does not want to feel overbearing.

"A part-time parent is far from how I want my residents to think of me," she said, "Although I am in a position of authority, I like to remember how I was as a freshman and use that to be an affective mentor while still maintaining order during times of conflict resolution."

As rewarding as the assistant position in the dorms can be, it is not an easy task.

Jordan Rivers, a senior chemical engineering major  who was a resident assistant in the upperclassmen dorm of Lucy Diggs Slowe Hall his sophomore year, acknowledges that even though he had a rewarding experience, he did face some challenges.

"I realized that I could not socialize with my friends that lived [with] in the same way that I used to," Rivers said. "I also faced physical and social conditions that I did not have the answers to."

Unlike Cromartie and Harris, Rivers has had to interact with female and male residents. Rivers said he had to be conscious of his actions and treat people according to his or her situation. Harris agreed with Rivers.

"There is a difference in how male and female RAs interact with their residents as well as RAs that have freshman in comparison to upperclassman," Harris said, "As a resident assistant, you have to cater your interactions with the residents on your floor specifically to their needs for that semester or year."

Even with the challenges, Rivers found his term as a resident assistant to be fun and rewarding.

"I tried my best to follow the rules," he said, adding that he knew when to separate work from playing around.

His most memorable moments as a resident assistant involved ResFest, the annual campus-wide competition in which dorms square off against each other in various games and events, including much-talked step shows.

"It was great to see the teams together," he said. "Everyone was so excited and dedicated."

Cromartie said that even though managing time wisely is a challenge as a resident assistant, the experience in working with new students is worth any hassle.

Looking back at her proud moment of being a resident assistant, Cromartie is happy to say that her work as an RA has paid off. The freshman student that she chose to mentor is now making As in her classes and has better time management skills. Cromartie had become the successful mentor and big sister that she set out to be as a resident assistant.