The residents assistant application process for the 2022-2023 school year has concluded after finishing the second step of the interview process. The group interview portion, which was the second step, puts students together in groups of five to express their abilities, problem solving and working as a team.
“We did the essay portion for the first phase and then we did a virtual interview. So they ask questions and we had two minutes to answer that question to the best of our abilities. Questions like, ‘How would you operate as an RA? Why would you want to be an RA?’” Sam Robertson, a first-year in the College of Communication said.
Robertson said the written portion went smoothly for him and said the group portion really solidified the values Robertson was thinking of when applying to be an RA.
“I’m already super involved on campus and being an RA would allow me to have a further reach on campus. I like being in leadership and being in this leadership role of being an RA. I get to bring all the things I love together, it’s the student, the communication and the relationships,” Robertson said.
Robertson also said being in the College of Communications and taking classes such as human communication has helped him understand how to work through problems with others and present himself in a professional manner.
Will Eikenbury, a first-year in the College of Communication, is also applying to become an RA and said he is very excited for all the opportunities that come along with it. Creative expression and not having to pay for room and board are just some of the benefits.
“I love working in leadership roles and meeting new people at Marquette. I’ve always loved building diverse communities of people – which is largely why I’m a part of so many clubs on campus – and being an RA felt like a great way to cultivate my own community at Marquette. That, and I’d get to make an awesome floor theme. I’ve got a lot of crazy ideas but “cheese floor” and “celebrity Wills floor” are at the top of my list,” Eikenbury said in an email.
Although Eikenbury said he is looking forward to hearing back from school about the job, he said much of his housing plans for next year are still up in the air.
“Right now, I am essentially stuck assuming that I’ll get the RA position and don’t have much of a backup plan if it falls through. My current roommate is looking for other people to room with next year since if I get the job, he won’t have a roommate, so it’s a bit of a mess, to be honest. I wish there was a better system for letting people know if they ‘got the job’ earlier,” Eikenbury said in an email.
August Peterson, a senior in the College of Business Administration and former RA in Wells Street Hall, said he initially applied for an RA position for the benefit of not having to pay for housing but the experience turned into something worth more than material value.
“I treated it as a job because of the financial side of it … but after that first month getting to know everybody I really enjoyed getting to know all these freshman and sophomores and being a real help for them. I know it sounds corny but I really enjoyed helping them and being with them and being a resource,” Peterson said.
Although Peterson said he did not get the job in the first interview and was on the waitlist, he ended up getting the job and said the experience was worth helping others out.
This article was written by Connor Baldwin. He can be reached at [email protected]
