Now that we have opened our properties and welcomed
the students we will be serving this year, it's time to build strong community and provide great service!
This
edition of the Campus Advantage Residence
Life newsletter is dedicated to helping you
get off to a great start!
Getting
your year off on the right foot is CRITICAL
for success in building your community.
Here
are seven tips for you to make this a great
year for you and your residents:
1.
Be Available - The beginning of the school
year is CRITICAL for building a sense of community
at your property. It's always important for
a CA to be available, it is especially true
during the first few days and weeks. Stop
by apartments, keep your door open, and make
your presence known! The first six weeks are
the most important time for building community.
If you work hard at fostering interaction
and building relationships during this time,
it will make the rest of the year much more
successful, more rewarding and easier for
you!
2.
Plan - Your goal is to create a dynamic
community conducive to academic and personal
growth for your students. How will you do
this (and continue to be a successful student
yourself)? Planning is key. Work with your
supervisor and fellow team members to plan
out your semester. Use slow times to prepare
things like next month's program proposals.
Manage your time and responsibilities wisely,
so that you aren't caught off-guard when last
minute issues.
3.
Learn Names - "Hey, you" just
won't cut it. You need to learn their names.
When you have 50-100 names to learn, this
isn't an easy task! One tip is to repeat their
names in conversation as you speak with them.
You can also come up with an association for
their name. As a CA, I found it helpful to
take pictures of everyone for a community
bulletin board. I then secretly made doubles
and kept them in my room as a reference.
4.
Assess Your Residents - The community
you are helping build is your residents' community.
Find out what they want. Find out their interests,
and what they need. This should be done both
formally (through an interest survey) and
informally (through conversation and observation).
You should be able to justify any program
you plan based on resident needs or interests
(see calendar of student issues and needs
for example).
5.
Have FUN! - Don't forget to step back
and enjoy what you are doing. This job should
be FUN! Enjoy the time you are spending with
your residents. When you need to, get off
the property for a break. Spend time with
your fellow team members. If you don't enjoy
what you are doing, you are missing out!
6.
Be Consistent - It is crucial that you
are consistent with your residents from the
beginning. If they sense inconsistency or
favoritism (as you enforce policy or in other
ways) you will lose their respect, and lose
your effectiveness.
7.
Set the Tone - You can always "lower
the bar," but it's difficult to raise
expectations if you start them low. Set your
expectations high from the beginning. This
applies both customer service and building
the expectation of a great community! Tell
your residents that you want your floor/area
is the best one around. Set expectations for
great relationships, great programming and
lots of fun. Set the tone now; you'll be thankful
later!
~
Dan Oltersdorf |
