Resident Assistants prepare to welcome students

Coming to college for the first time can be a daunting experience, to say the least. Between finding your classes, meeting new people, adjusting to a new schedule and moving to a new place, it’s a series of life changes that can be quite overwhelming for some students.

But as Pitt State faculty, staff and returning students get prepared for the fall semester, they’re making sure the transition is smooth for new students.

For two weeks, nearly 40 resident assistants (RAs) at PSU have been undergoing training for a big responsibility this fall – making sure new students in the residence halls have a healthy adjustment to college life.

The RAs, many of whom are upperclassmen and have been living in the residence halls for at least two years, are learning how to handle issues that can arise in dorm living including roommate conflicts, fire hazards, and student violence. They’re also training on residence hall policies, taking room inventories, and learning about the facilities.

“They have to be prepared to face anything,” said Melissa Beisel, assistant director of housing at PSU. “They have a lot of information thrown at them, because you never know what students might need from them and when those questions might come.” “Since they live where they work, they're on the job all the time.”

Becoming a resident assistant takes some work, and for good reason. The six residence halls are full to capacity again this year, with approximately 1,120 students living on campus. Even the RAs, who normally get private rooms, have roommates this year in order to provide housing to as many students as possible.

 With 60 applicants this year, the Office of University Housing selected only 15 new RAs. The free housing and meal plan are nice, said Beisel, but if those were the only benefits, it would be difficult to find good RAs.

“What we hear is that they really want to help their fellow students,” she said. “It gives them a valuable opportunity to have a leadership role. These students really are the types who like helping others.”

Paresa Tafreshi, a junior nursing major from Overland Park, Kan., said getting involved in the Residence Hall Assembly was the first opportunity she found to get to know people her first year. As many of her friends chose to find other living arrangements after their first year, she stayed on to help others learn how to transition to college life.

“I want to have a chance to make a difference to freshmen,” Tafreshi said of the largest group living in the residence halls. “It’s hard to get used to living on your own and to be thrown into a new environment with all these different people with different lifestyles.  I want to be a resource for them and to be someone they can turn to when they’re having an issue.”

RAs aren’t the only ones prepared for the arrival of new students. The Office of Enrollment Management and Student Success has prepared a welcoming committee of students and faculty that will have a table set up next week on the Oval. The group will be wearing “Just Ask,” buttons, encouraging new students to ask them anything.

Move-in times for the residence halls are from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24.

---Pitt State---