Being a RA is like being a politician

I know this isn’t the comparison you hear every day. In fact, I doubt anyone has ever made this comparison before, but the more I serve in my beloved role as a Resident Advisor I find it rather similar to what it’s like to represent a community. In some ways, a Resident Advisor represents all the wonderful associated with being a politician. I don’t have to deal with corruption and I absolutely am not taking bribes. I don’t have to run a campaign, only an interview determines my ability to hold the role, and unlike politicians I actually get the opportunity to personally know all of my constituents, at least by name, but almost always much more than that. At the core, a politician is a leader in the community and while I’m not currently working in a direct government setting, I think my role serves as a unique experience for the future to best understand how to best serve the community I am a part of. A politician represents the people, serves the people, brings attention to important issues and struggles with the need to appeal to all constituents, and all those are important as a Resident Advisor.

In a community within a community within a community, it is often hard to have all the voices in that said community be heard. That’s the important of having leaders. After all that’s why we have different districts with House of Representatives and each city has a mayor and a council, it is in hope that our message and needs of specific communities can be honored. I serve as a liaison for what is going on in the residence halls. I listen to my residents’ (also in government talk could be considered constituents) needs and address them and make them known to people who have higher power to potentially fix the problems. It’s impossible for the people above me to know all the residents in the bigger community, that is the whole residence hall. That’s why it crucial that I really get to know my residents personally to make sure their views and opinions can be represented on a longer scale. I am their leader and I strive to create a better community for them to live in.

More importantly than anything, I serve their needs. Not only do I hear them and often report them up to other individuals, I also work to best help their problems. These problems are often on a smaller scale, as yes we are just living in a residence hall building together, but that does not mean they are any less important. When a resident points out the issue with other residents overusing a study room for the wrong reasons, I take action and create guidelines for the study room encouraging residents to reserve that as a place to study. I contact those in the community it affects to make sure they are aware of this guideline. It’s never just listening to their problem, it’s doing everything I can in the community to make it a better place for them to live.

I also have the power to bring attention to important issues in the community. When I form an understanding that many of my residents are suffering from body insecurities, I go out of my way to address this issue to ensure residents can see a different point of view by actively reminding them of the importance of inner beauty and just how beautiful each and every one of them are. Issues range on a variety of levels, sometimes it’s people not using the trash room correctly or it’s the entire university being impacted by a disease that could be dangerous to all in the community. When it comes to the university, it is as if I and all the following RA’s are the House of Reps, passing on the word of crucial problems that are impacting the university, which is like the Nation on a small scale. Our role is incredibly important as it ensures that all that are affected know what to do to best handle a given campus wide issue.

Much like politicians, I also struggle with being liked by residents. While it is not as necessary in the sense of being voted in the role, it is still crucial because in order to get to know our constituents it is important to form a common bond so they can feel comfortable relying their issues and difficulties to you. Being liked by the people around you is powerful, after all is anyone ever really going to listen to you if they don’t respect the person you are. As a RA, we deal with the issue of balancing their trust with also being the authority within the residence hall for regulating a variety of policies. It’s almost like balancing the role of a politician while also being the police officer in the area, you help establish the community and provide support at the end of the day your are also responsible for ensuring people follow the law. This can challenge the objective to be liked, but that’s what’s so critical about establishing a good relationship from the start because on that basis hopefully there is enough respect there that if you have to document an individual the relationship can still remain strong.

I understand there are differences at hand, and in some ways it’s as simple as just calling me a student leader, but as someone who desires to represent the larger community one day I see the similarities in bright light. In fact, in some ways it’s a very wonderful way to get some experience in getting to know constituents because I can only image how when the population you represent gets larger how much more difficult it can become. At least I have a foundation of serving and listening to a community needs, and one day I will take it to the next level.

Being a RA has held lead to additional opportunities to help me feel like a politician. In an organization known as the National Residence Hall Honorary, where I officially serve as the President. I get the opportunity to attend conferences, both on a regional level and national level to represent San Diego State University Residence Hall interests and experiences to further connect with other universities and their representatives. We vote on legislation that can directly impact our campuses. My first National Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) I felt something much bigger than me. As I was surrounded by people from different universities, we all sat with our placards read to discuss, question and vote on legislation.

I may not be an official politician, with an office and having to deal with campaigning, but I am representing my people and taking action for them. I admit being a RA is still a different life, I get to plan programs and do beautiful bulletin boards and as I finish my final year of this job I know that’s something I am certain to miss. But I aspire to be a leader in the community, one makes a difference, one that will be remembered for a legacy that really changed the community for the better, one that is kind, passionate and dedicated to the work they do. I will go places, just you watch how far I’ll go.