December 14, 2009
Proving that there is no better Residence Life team in the
New York metropolitan area, a cohort of St. John’s University’s
Resident Assistants and Residence Directors scored two out of three
wins in separate competitions at a recent Resident Assistant (RA)
conference hosted by SUNY Stony Brook.
In the Case Study competition, one of the conference highlights,
teams of students were presented with a particular residence life
situation and required to offer solutions to a panel of Residence
Directors. This year’s competition focused on student-staff
motivation, and assessment and performance issues and how to
address them.
Dominic Petruzzelli, Director of Residence Life, reports that “for
the third year in a row, the St. John’s University RA delegation
won the Case Study competition at Stony Brook. We know that we have
a dedicated, caring and very professional team of RAs, but it is
immensely satisfying to have other professionals acknowledge that
they are tops.”
“RAs provide an invaluable service to our campus community,”
comments Eric Finkelstein, Associate Director of Residence
Life. “The position requires a full-time commitment and a
genuine interest in helping others succeed that distinguishes them
from their peers—making them a vital arm of the University’s
efforts aimed at student outreach, satisfaction, and
retention.”
Experienced, Mature,
Responsible
St. John’s 76 RAs are part of a Residence Life team made up of
eight full-time Residence Directors (RDs), a Residence Life
Coordinator and a Graduate Assistant, all serving approximately
3,500 students in 13 buildings/complexes on and around the
University’s campuses. Experienced students who are selected
for their proven maturity, sense of responsibility and interest in
people, RAs undergo a highly selective (450 students attended
interest sessions this year) application process.
That process consists of the application, essays, recommendations,
individual interviews and an eight-week leadership course. They
participate in a three-week training module, in which they learn
conflict mediation, confrontation skills, team-building,
programming, emergency procedures, diversity awareness, ethical
decision-making and other critical skills that prepare them to
provide assistance to students in their assigned areas—usually a
floor or wing of a residence hall. RAs receive room and board
stipends as compensation for their work and provide overnight,
weekend, and holiday duty coverage in the halls.
A Valuable Experience
For the past three years a contingent of St. John’s RAs has
traveled to the Stony Brook conference, which is a major
opportunity to network with other RAs around the region and share
some of their successes and concerns. Those attending this year
were: Lamees Galal; John Wilson; Khrystal Daniel; Christopher
Carriles; Elizabeth Kugler; Rob Cote; Matt Coleman; and
Pierre Lucien
St. John’s RD Jennifer Bonardi explains that while the day-long
conference is intended for RAs, many professionals also attend and
benefit from the gathering. “It’s always good to see people in your
profession and to gather information about best practices,” she
points out. “The networking opportunities are great; you can talk
about what’s happening at each other’s schools.”
This year, for the first time, the conference committee instituted
a Professional Case Study competition for RDs. That competition,
judged by two representatives from Stony Brook, addressed RA
management, according to Keith Gorman, a St. John’s RD who was on
the competition team.
That team too was victorious, according to Mr. Petruzzelli. “The
St. John’s University RD delegation won the professional case study
competition in its inaugural year at the conference! There are only
three awards distributed at this conference and our delegation won
two out of those three. I can’t say that I am surprised, because I
know they are excellent at what they do, but again, it is so
edifying to have their talent and professionalism recognized by
others.”