Every fall, SNHU students make the big adjustment of moving into their new residence halls. Those students are greeted by Resident Assistants (RAs), some who are brand new to the position and some who are veterans of working in the Office of Residence Life. However, each RA has the same goal: to make their residents feel at home.
Sara Einsmann (’21) is an RA in Lincoln Hall and this is her first year taking up the position. Einsmann decided to become an RA due to her own struggles during her freshman year.
“I struggled a lot my first year with homesickness, so I was hoping to be able to build a community where it would feel [like] home,” Einsmann said.
When asked about her favorite part of being an RA so far, Einsmann said she enjoyed “building a community within my floor and establishing meaningful relationships with my residents.” Einsmann believes the one thing that really makes her floor stand out is the kitchens available to residents. “My hall has the ability to cook, [which] makes it special because it really makes it feel like home.”
First year RA Siena Hoaglund (’21) is an RA in New Castle Hall. According to Hoaglund, there are so many things that she likes about her job and her hall, but her favorite part of being an RA so far is “working with my fellow staff (laughing along with them), facilitating fun events in the dorm (spreading joy) and generally building connections with my residents.”
Hoaglund decided that she wanted to become an RA because she “quickly fell in love with the community-building aspect of the job.” She “wanted to be able to help new students feel welcome, make new friends and develop connections with their fellow residents.”
Hoaglund thinks her hall is special because New Castle is a smaller building on campus and “the residents of New Castle have a better chance of getting to know each of their neighbors and getting to understand their RA’s on personal levels.” Hoaglund also thinks highly of her colleagues, whom she describes as kind, understanding and funny individuals that help build a friendly community on campus.
Einsmann and Hoaglund are only two of the many RAs that hope to make SNHU students feel more at home while they are at college. However, all of the RAs hope to be a useful resource that students can trust to help them adjust to their new environment.
