SEAHO Report - Spring 2017 - 25

SEAHO Features
diately and allows them to see how much UNCG cares.
Benefits to student staff
While it may be easier for a Resident Advisor to plan, host & assess a program on their own, bringing in a faculty
member offers many benefits to student staff development. Grogan Resident Advisor Marley Moneta reflected on
her experience working with a faculty member to co-host a program: "the process taught me to think intentionally about my communication with the professor; eventually, it became second nature to respectfully communicate in a professional and informative way. After approaching the professor in person to prose the idea, I continued communication via email. I explained who I was and what my role in Housing & Residence Life was, as well
as my intentions and objectives for the program. I also shared who the intended audience was and information
about the physical space in which he would interact with students, along with other details. I enjoyed hosting the
professor and being the connector to residents on my floor. At the end, I learned about the value of recognizing
through my follow-up thank you note; which he appreciated."
Like Marley, the majority of student staff members gain:
* Experience in communicating with a professional.
* Email etiquette is not often taught in high school, or college. Working with their supervisor,
student staff should learn important elements of effective written communication, like being
concise yet informative, composing appropriate subject lines, being polite, watching for tone
and proofreading.
* An established personal relationship with the selected faculty member.
* Too often, students wait until their junior or senior year to establish a relationship, which is
usually driven by the need for a recommendation letter or reference. Resident Advisors have the
opportunity to connect with faculty early, showcase their organizational and communication
skills, which may result in a recommendation, internship, research assistantship, reference for
graduate school.
* Increased confidence.
* If the Resident Advisor is enrolled in the faculty's course, familiarity with the faculty will likely
raise their confidence in the classroom, as speaking with them is less intimidating.
* At least one enhanced skill sets.
* Team work and collaboration are skills nearly every employer looks for. Students who learn to
professionally communicate and collaborate with others, in addition to defining objectives and
assessing effectiveness, are better prepared to efficiently contribute to any given field.
Resident Advisors who are struggling to identify a faculty member with whom to partner should reflect on professors who are:
* Engaging in the classroom.
* Interesting personally or professionally.
* Good at telling stories.
* Imparting valuable life lessons on students.
* Relatable.
* Involved in an interesting hobby.
Incorporating residence life into the academic curriculum
We often think about how we can bring faculty into our world, but let's consider the alternate - getting engaged
in their world. Ideally, these "worlds" aren't separate, but in order to get to a place where we live in one big happy
collaborative world, we have to be intentional about working together.
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SEAHO Report Spring 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Spring 2017