Highlight--March RA Soiree!

As promised, I have attached the pictures as well as some resources from our March RA Soiree!

Teddi had some creative recycled crafts. I must say, my creations never turn out as well as I hope the do, but I saw some pretty incredible crafts that day! We made pen cups and paperclip holders out of recycled newspapers, coffee sleeves out of felt, and there was even a book of creative uses for old t-shirts!

• Cool community builder idea for the end of the semester: Clothes swap! (or Item swap, or Anything swap!) -Have residents bring all items from their room that they are ready to part with, and gather in an open space. Then, have residents go through and pick out things they want to keep! To amp it up a bit, if you are savvy with a sewing machine, you could offer "alteration" services. This could be to re-do some sheets into a pillow, some jeans into a purse...the opportunities are endless!

And, yes, we ate bugs. I'll admit, I was not brave enough to try a cricket, but I did eat a few worms, and more than my fair share of grasshopper cookies. But, I loved seeing the enthusiasm of all of the RAs that stopped by!

• Male community builder idea: several of you mentioned that you thought your residents would enjoy doing something similar to this. I ordered the bugs online from the Hotlix website, and there are also edible bugs for sale from Thailand Unique and Fluker's. Additionally, there is a really neat blog about eating bugs called Edibug. Here, you can read about bug delicacies, and how eating bugs as opposed to traditional proteins is actually quite sustainable. It's a really interesting read, and a great community building resource.

Bon appetit! 

Community Building Rotation #4: North and South Carrick

This was one of the neatest ideas for a Community Builder that I have seen...because it used surveys! and data! and stats! All the things I love!

This joint CB was hosted by 8 total RAs. Representing North Carrick were Mitchell Shope, John Baxter, Sean Smith, and Haden Bowersox. Representing South Carrick were Laura Reasor, Elizabeth Ige, Haley Leach, and Sarah Childers.

Each RA asked their floor to respond to a survey. The South Carrick ladies were asked to answer questions about what they look for in potential boyfriends, and their general views on dating and relationships. The men of North Carrick were asked similar questions about potential girlfriends. At this joint CB, the answers were revealed. Some answers were surprising, some answers were as expected, some were simply hilarious. All in all, this was a neat learning experience for all. Boys learned about girls, girls learned about boys, and residents learned about residents in general. It was neat to be a part of.

A great job to all involved!

Community Building Rotation #3: South Carrick Hall

I had the pleasure of attending a lovely community builder hosted by Sarah Childers of South Carrick. I loved this CB for several reasons--and I think this is a great example of connecting with your residents interests on several levels.

Sarah hosted an etiquette dinner for her residents. She cooked a completely home-made meal, complete with a salad course, french bread, a main course consisting of chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, and peas, and a dessert course featuring cheesecake! We definitely feasted like queens. While enjoying the delicious meal, Sarah taught her residents how to properly eat as if this were a professional setting. Speaking from personal experience, these skills are very important. I had at least one of these meals in every interview process I went through in my own job hunt!

The other--pretty awesome--layer of this CB is the timing. Sarah hosted this CB at around 7:30 on a Tuesday night. Does anyone know what comes on at 8PM on Tuesdays? That's right..Pretty Little Liars! So, the teaching was done during the commercials, but the dinner lasted for the entirety of the show, engaging her residents even more. I thought this was a genius move--especially since I LOVE PLL.

A great job all around, Sarah!

West Area RA of the Month--February

Congratulations to Ashley Jakubek for being selected the West Area RA of the Month for February!

Let's hear what her nominator, Heather Cox, had to say about her:

     "For the month of February, the South Carrick staff voted that Ashley should be nominated for RA of the Month. Ashley has been a quiet leader amongst the South Carrick staff this year. She demonstrates her ability to complete all of her work and handle any resident need with grace and poise. 

     For one of her programs this month, Ashley had her residents make Valentine bags to hang by their doors so that they could leave nice notes for one another. They also created bags for the residents that were unable to be in attendance at the initial program. The initial program was a huge success, and her residents took to using the bags to leave nice notes quickly. While Valentine’s Day has passed, her residents still have their bags hanging and are using them to leave notes of encouragement for one another. In addition to the bags, Ashley baked goodies for each of her residents and made a goodie bag so that they each got something on Valentine ’s Day.

     Ashley has also been promoting positive body image to her residents this month. One of her boards has magazine photos of models and a quote reminding them that beauty cannot be photoshopped. Additionally, she covered her full length mirror with butcher paper for a day and left a note encouraging the residents to leave a note of encouragement and reinforcement for their fellow residents. By that evening, it was covered with positive notes of encouragement from the 9^th floor residents.

 
     Ashley sets a wonderful example for her residents and her fellow RAs. Her positive attitude and love for her role can be seen in the work that she does and in her interactions with others. For these reasons, we nominate Ashley for RA of the Month for February."

Congratulations, Ashley!

Community Building Rotation #4: Morrill Hall

Curtis Bowery, 13th floor Morrill Hall RA, coordinated a Leadership Round Table on his floor. He partnered with Lauren Owsley of the 12th floor and Kelsey McCoy of the 6th floor to engage as many residents as possible in this interactive discussion.

Curtis invited student representatives and a few professional staff from various areas of student involvement to come and share their experiences, both positive and negative, and advise the predominantly freshmen residents in attendance on different ways and areas to get involved around campus.

Some of the areas represented included:

• Campus Ministries
• UT Ambassadors
• Office of Sustainability
• Student Alumni Associates
• Greek life
• Residence life
• Student Government
• Chancellors Honors Program
• Center for Leadership and Service
• Orientation

 I am sure I left some out, but hopefully this gives you an idea of the breadth of information that the residents in attendance were provided. Each of the student representatives were asked to share a small bit about themselves and the organizations they are a part of, and then Curtis posed some questions for these representatives to answer, such as "What do you wish you had known?" "Is there a time when something didn't work out, and how did you handle it?" This discussion was truly engaging, and provided good lessons for all involved, not just the residents.

Jerry Adams also made a guest appearance!

Pizza and drinks were provided before the event, and were available afterwards too, while everyone was mingling.

I really enjoyed the format of this CB, and applaud Curtis, Lauren, and Kelsey for this very successful event!