Meet Teresa and Ryan, November’s Featured RA’s!

Monthly, Housing and Residence Life is taking the time to get to know some of the Resident Assistants (RA’s) on staff and share these profiles with you.  RA’s are student leaders who live in the residence halls to build community, offer programs, serve as a resource to students, and address any issues students experience.

 

This month, we meet Teresa Holl, a  Sophomore “Jersey Girl” from Jackson who works as an RA in Ora Manor, our University-owned apartment complex on Valley Street.  Teresa’s path to being a Resident Assistant wasn’t always clear, as she had considered transferring after a short while at Seton Hall.  However, she credits her freshman year RA, Heather Kwityn, for connecting her to SHU and motivating Teresa to pursue a position with Housing and Residence Life.  A Nursing major, Teresa saw the RA position as a chance to continue her leadership experience from high school.  Teresa loves bringing her organizational skills to her small staff and works to fight the stigma associated with being an RA off campus.  She values having her own living space and the ability to build more mature relationships with her residents and co-workers.  Teresa speaks happily about integrating her Filipino culture into her community, hosting a program where her aunt and uncle provided Filipino food from their restaurant.  If you’re interested in becoming an RA, Teresa encourages you to go for it and be yourself!

Next up is Ryan Johnson, a first-year RA from the first floor in Boland Hall.  An undecided Sophomore business major, Ryan prides himself on his involvement with the Martin Luther King Student Association and the Multicultural Advisory Committee.  If you ever need to find Ryan, he says he is most likely hanging out in the Boland Lobby getting to know a new resident he hasn’t met before.  Ryan recalls wanting to be an RA as early as his Junior year of high school when he was brainstorming with his aunt about ways he could afford college.  Although Ryan appreciates the financial benefits of the position, he believes the bigger payout is the leadership experience and the community he gets to be a part of in Boland Hall.  Originally placed on the alternate roster, Ryan encourages anyone who is placed as an alternate to accept the position because you never know what could happen.  Ryan’s tips for interested in becoming a Resident Assistant?  Like Teresa, he says to be yourself throughout the entire selection process.  He also wants to make sure that his future colleagues know what they are signing up for, so understand all the job entails and make sure you can be 100% committed to all aspects of the position.

Housing and Residence Life is hosting four more information sessions throughout December and January for students interested in learning more about the RA position!  Check out our previous blog post about RA selection to get those dates.

Submitting a work order has never been easier!

This year, campus-wide, all resident students are able to submit work order requests through text message.  If you are encountering a non-urgent issue in your room that needs attention by our Facilities Management department, you can send your request through your cell phone!

Here’s what a resident needs to know before using this convenient reporting system –

  • The work order number should ONLY be used for non-urgent facilities issues in your room (a drippy faucet, a burnt out light, etc…)
  • Although you can submit a work order any time of day, the Residence Hall Director of the building only accesses the submitted work orders between 8:45 am and 4:45 pm, Monday through Friday.  Our staff make every effort to check this report at least twice a day, when they first report to the office and in the afternoon.
  • Do not use the work order number in the event of a serious facilities emergency (any time where the safety of the student or a structure is in danger).  Any facilities emergencies should be reported to your front desk staff immediately, who will report it to the appropriate Housing and Residence Life, Facilities Management and/or Public Safety staff.
  • In Ora and Turrell Manor, between 9 am and 5 pm, Facilities emergencies should be reported to RHD Katelyn Conroy at 973-761-9020.  After 5 PM, students should call Public Safety at 973-761-9300.  After 8 PM, they can report the emergency to the RA on duty.

The HRL staff member will receive your message, submit a formal work order to Facilities Management, who then dispatch their staff to address your work order.

Any other questions, comments or concerns regarding your experience in our residence halls should be discussed, in person, with the Residence Hall Director or Residence Coordinator of your building, available in their offices between 8:45 am and 4:45 pm on weekdays.  You can also speak to the Resident Assistant on your floor or the Resident Assistants on duty, who are available starting at 8 pm every night until 9 am the next morning, Monday through Friday, and 24 hours during the weekend.

Work orders should be submitted to the number associated with your residence hall –

Aquinas- 973-996-8192

Boland- 973-913-5832

Complex- 973.913.4511

Turrell and Ora Manors- 973-913-5281

Xavier – 973-657-2146

In the text message, include your name, room number and a specific description of the issue.

We remind you that this number will not put you in direct contact with a member of Housing and Residence Life staff.  Do not call this number.  Do not submit a text message to this number if it is a serious facilities emergency that needs an immediate resolution.  Do not submit a text message to this number if you are experiencing a noise complaint, roommate conflict, or other issue associated with your residential experience.  We want you to discuss these things in person with a member of HRL staff.