SEAHO Report - Spring 2024 - 29

Building Bridges:
Fostering Community with Living
Learning Community Partners
By Bri Reda and Erin Parker, University of Mississippi
Throughout my journey within student housing, I have had the privilege of overseeing Luckyday Residential
College (LRC) at the University of Mississippi. LRC stands out for its distinctive features, including a livein
faculty fellow and a team of faculty/staff members dedicated to supporting the Luckyday Scholar and
associate program. The Luckyday Scholars Program awards 80 first-time freshmen with a financial scholarship.
This program requires the scholars to be engaged in scholarship, community, service and leadership.
More recently, LRC has expanded its offerings to include the Mississippi Outreach to Scholastic Talent
(MOST) Living Learning Community (LLC). The MOST LLC is offered to Mississippi's emerging African
Americans who are graduating high school seniors. Through this LLC, MOST aims to inspire, educate,
empower, and assist in the transition process from high school to college.
Over the years, I have worked hard to foster relationships and collaborate closely with the faculty and staff
serving our residential students. I have found this work, and the connections I have made to be immensely
rewarding. I have been fortunate to collaborate directly with the faculty fellow; offering valuable perspectives
and fostering a robust partnership to address the needs of our residents. Our joint efforts have been
dedicated to cultivating an environment that not only provides academic support but also fosters a profound
sense of belonging and community among our residents.
This collaborative journey has been rife with challenges. However, I am proud to have worked to create a
space that allows students to flourish. Through years of experience, I have integrated practices that facilitate
collaboration with our partners. As a result, our efforts have not only enriched the residential experience
but have also cultivated an environment where students flourish both academically and personally. Below, I
have outlined several key insights that I've integrated into my approach to effectively navigate the distinctive
dynamics of collaborating with our faculty fellow and LLC partners.
Resident Assistant Selection
In the Luckyday program and the MOST LLC, sophomores, juniors, and seniors have the opportunity to
assume mentorship or leadership roles. Recently, I have collaborated with faculty and staff supporting the
LRC programs and the MOST LLC to identify individuals already acting as mentors and leaders among their
peers to encourage them to apply for Resident Assistant (RA) positions in LRC. It's crucial to note that the
RA role is not automatically given to these students; they take part in the same application, interview, and
qualification process as every other RA candidate.
Our departmental practice allows the building supervisor to select their RA team each year. Therefore, I
facilitate personnel selection meetings with our LLC and faculty fellow partners. If candidates recommended
by our LLC partners meet requirements and a position is available on my staff, I offer them the RA role.
Specifically, the RA will oversee the floor where the LLC is situated.
Thus far, my experience has shown that selecting an RA who is actively involved in the LLC and maintains
close collaboration with the program's faculty or staff has proven beneficial for all parties. The RA assigned
to the floor develops a unique connection, serving as both a peer mentor for the LLC and a recognized
leader in the building due to their RA role. Moreover, I have observed that RAs holding leadership
or mentorship positions within the LRC program, or MOST LLC tend to log more meaningful student
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SEAHO Report - Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Spring 2024

Contents
SEAHO Report - Spring 2024 - 1
SEAHO Report - Spring 2024 - Contents
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2022winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020holiday
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2017summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2017spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2017winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/50thanniversary
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2012fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2012summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2012winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/spring2011
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com