Among the many student jobs offered across Cornell, Residential Advisors play one of the most important roles on campus. Despite the undeniable benefits, including a single room and a stipend, the positions come with significant responsibilities, where they are expected to be more than just a student. From managing daily dorm life to supporting the residents outside of dorms, Cornell’s 200 RAs hold one of the most demanding jobs on campus.
To better understand the typical week on the job, I had the opportunity to interview a RA on North Campus.
With an initial interest in the position because of the community it provided, she went through a long application process. Like most student jobs, she answered a few essay questions and was invited for an interview with two Residential Housing Directors around late November to early December. While the procedure itself did not seem too tedious, most of the challenges began after the job was offered.
Although the weekly schedule varied, she appeared to have a never-ending bundle of tasks on top of her own school assignments. For example, on Wednesdays, she has her mandatory RA meetings, where she meets with her Residence Hall Director and the rest of the RA team. For about an hour and a half, they would go over on-call schedules and policy procedures to prepare for anything that may come up. Additionally, she helped organize Ice Cream Wednesdays alongside the other RAs, a weekly event where residents are able to come together to have ice cream from the Dairy Bar.
On Thursdays, she hosts her two community hours, similar to office hours, where residents can come to her to relieve their concerns or ask for advice, including academic guidance. On other days, she is often busy with planning for her monthly programs. Although these events seem simple and quick to organize, they require careful planning, as these events are intended to be used as a platform for students to engage with their peers and build a community within a large campus.
Despite the amount of work that goes into organizing the events, participation is not always guaranteed. Even on Tik Tok there are videos of RA events who have no attendees, highlighting the importance of organizing an activity that corresponds to the interests of the residents. To ensure this, she takes various steps. For instance, she mentioned how she first thinks of what she would enjoy hosting and then connects that to her residential community’s needs, whether that is providing snacks or organizing an outdoor activity. After coming up with the idea, she then submits a pre-program planning form where she details her activity, how it contributes to the community and what the budget may be.
On one of the days of a given week, RAs are expected to be on-call, which means they hold a 13-hour shift on the weekday or 24-hour shift on the weekend where students can reach them for any emergencies in the middle of the night. This is one of the more difficult aspects of the job, as this means that a student could call for help at 3:34 a.m.
The RA I interviewed said that the most difficult part of this is when she gets a “call that’s pretty intense with a student who has something going on that’s pretty serious.” She finds this especially hard because there is not much she can do beyond connecting the student with the right resources.
During my dorm orientation I still remember how my RAs would clearly emphasize the use of on-call RAs only for emergencies, such as getting into the dorm, and not to use for other miscellaneous purposes. This is because there have been incidents where students would call them just for unnecessary reasons, like trying to work the printer.
This is the weekly routine of one of the RAs but demonstrates how busy it is, which arguably becomes more demanding once you add in her school assignments and deadlines. However, regardless of how busy her schedule gets, she always makes sure she has enough time for her residents. From giving me advice to hosting fun events, such as Hot Cocoa Night, she has helped me find a community within my dorms and grow comfortable in Cornell.
Julia Choi is a freshman in the Brooks School of Public Policy. She can be reached at jc3767@cornell.edu.
