It’s both exciting and challenging to be a new student moving on campus and away from home for the first time. Not to worry. URI’s Resident Assistants are here to help new students navigate the transition. They understand the fears and feelings. They’ve been there. And they’ve been trained to help.
In August, 160 RAs arrived on campus for training designed to prepare them to support the students in their assigned residence halls. That training includes first aid, roommate mediation, respectful and responsible discourse, and fire safety. Their responsibilities also include creating and maintaining a civil, respectful, and inclusive residential community where every student can feel welcome.
“They’re well trained, but also well versed, having been students who’ve been through the college transition before, and very much prepared to help with whatever a student might need,” said Kayla Mosko, URI associate director for residential life. “Training our RAs reminds us how incredible our student staff members are and the excitement they have for what they do. They are really wonderful student leaders who put so much of themselves into their responsibilities to help others acclimate to campus and connect them with different campus resources.”
Mentoring, being part of a team
Among the RAs to welcome students this fall is senior kinesiology major Eli Belmont, who will be responsible for a floor in Browning Hall. For him, being an RA is not just about making first-year students feel welcome but providing them with guidance to help them through the transition and through their first year.
“I really like the mentorship part and being that point of contact for all students,” he said. “I’ll be there to answer questions or to provide a listening ear. Being there, especially for first-year students, and knowing the transition from high school to college is difficult, I can do my part to make that a little easier. That’s why I wanted to be an RA.”
For senior accounting major Emmanuel Amankwa-Sarpong, it’s this combination of helping students transition to college and being part of a team that supports incoming students that drew him into becoming an RA. “I like the team aspect of being an RA. I’m enjoying bonding as a team and creating a welcoming environment for new students,” said Amankwa-Sarpong, who will be part of the team working in Fayerweather and Gorham Halls. “Like Belmont, I like to help students as they transition into life at URI, to help them feel comfortable, versus feeling like they’re having everything thrown at them all at once and not knowing what to do.”
A full circle moment
It’s a challenge that Anphelia Teage, a junior nursing major, fully understands. She’ll be handling RA duties in Hillside Hall. For her, becoming an RA is a full circle moment, after not knowing what to expect when she first arrived on campus.“For me, it’s about helping people who were in my position. I’m a first-generation college student, and so I remember it was crazy for me because I didn’t know anybody that had ever done it,” said Teage. “So, being able to help those who are following in the same footsteps as me, who need somebody to look out for them and tell them how things are going to be, and be there for them in that moment, is why I decided to be an RA.”
For Aidan Greenless, a senior animal veterinary science major, becoming an RA also felt like a full circle moment. Before he arrived at URI, his initial worry was that he wouldn’t fit in or have a sense of belonging. However those feelings quickly subsided when he stepped on campus. It’s something that he hopes to help other first-year students manage as he works with them in Weldin Hall.
“I was really scared to come to college,” said Greenless. “I felt like it was a big step and I was worried that I wasn’t going to fit in or feel a sense of belonging, but when I came here it was really great and I’ve enjoyed my time at URI. I decided to be an RA to assist people who have that same fear. I just enjoy being there for people and making a difference.”
Developing a connection
Supporting students and developing a connection with them is critical for any RA. Jenelle Santos Gomez, a senior criminal justice and human family development major, sees her role as an RA as being a leader and being someone students in her halls, Hutchinson and Peck, can turn to.
“Getting that opportunity to be a leader within the community of first-year students and being that familiar face people go to for connection is what really pushed me to be an RA. Being able to connect with people and making them feel at home—that’s really important to me,” she said.
-— Nicholas Phillips