An Interview with Grace Rowland

 

Grace Rowland is a resident assistant in Friends University freshman dorms. She is also involved in academics and track. Based on her information, I can't help but wonder what it is like to be in her position and how it benefits her as well as the university. So I will let you get a glimpse of some questions that I asked her.

1. What is the reason you decided to become a resident advisor?

I decided to become a resident assistant because I really like helping people and being a RA you get to do that on a daily basis. It brings me a lot of joy to get to serve people while getting to know them at the same time.

2. What does your average week look like as a resident advisor?

My average week is not always set-in-stone. I do have certain hours a week that are certain like my duty nights, which are five hours of office work a week. I also have to be on call for 24 hours a week in case someone needs something. The other hours depend on the situation. Sometimes I have to deal with resident drama or one of my residents needs to talk to me, or sometimes I just catch them in the hall and we talk for a while. Unlike other jobs, being an RA doesn’t end after I’m done with my duty night, it is a constant job that I do in and outside the office. With that, the hours fluctuate weekly.

3. What aspects of being a resident advisor are the most difficult?

The hardest part of being a RA is all of the stress that comes with it. There are times when we have several events and meetings throughout the week and on top of that trying to balance school work and track practice. Along with being there for residents, it can be hard to make time to spend with my friends and activities that I want to do. I also don’t like having to write up residents for conduct issues. I truly don’t want to get anyone in trouble, and it can be hard for me to write residents up when they do break the rules.

4. What do you believe you can do to improve our school/this particular building?

 

I think a big part of improving this building is creating an atmosphere for residents to connect and thrive. We live in a culture that constantly tears each other down, and I want to create one where we build each other up. When new residents come into the building it is so important that they have people that know their name and want to see them succeed. I want to be that person for each of my residents. I just hope having at least one person that has your back and cares about you can help inspire you to do the same for someone else that needs it.

5. What motivates you to succeed in a workplace or academic setting?

I am motived in an academic setting because I want to do the best at whatever I do. A big part of succeeding for me, is all the support I get from my family. They have raised and supported me all my life and have helped me get in this position today. I want to succeed to thank them for never giving up on me and helping me strive to be my best.

6. Describe how you settled a conflict in the past between you and another student.

Conflict can be a tricky thing for a lot of people. For me, I don’t enjoy conflict so when it comes around it is something that makes me uncomfortable. I have had some conflict in my room last year and have learned a lot from that as well as being an RA. A lot of the time conflict happens because there is lack of communication. Something wasn’t said it was assumed, or someone had an issue and never verbalized it. It can become extremely hard in today’s world because people often want to text each other instead of having a face-to-face conversation. Often times, that initial conversation can solve the problem before it gets too bad.

7. How do you work to build relationships with students in your position? 

Building relationships with residents is such a big job as an RA. It is your job to make sure that residents are doing ok, and not having any troubles in their rooms or classes. You can really make or break some students first year at college. I really try and make sure that all my residents know that I am here for them and am always open to talk if they need someone to listen. Sometimes it is hard to get connected with residents, and so I try my best to be intentional when I get the chance. I pray a lot for my residents and the opportunities to build those relationships.

8. How would you improve and promote diversity in your building/dormitory?

Improving diversity is sometimes a challenging thing in a residence hall, and something as a res life staff we try and promote. November is actually diversity month so we plan events and make bulletin boards that hopefully can plant and inspire diversity on the Friends campus.

9. How would you help a student feel better about missing their hometown or feeling homesick?

Being homesick as a freshman can be really hard of a lot of new students. Moving away from home is scary and be a hard process for a lot of kids. I would help that student by checking up on them, inviting them to events, and even introducing them to people they might get along with. Getting these students moving and involved around campus can help the student create a home like feel on campus and can make the experience better.

10. How would you promote Friends University to other people? Or what could the college change about tours to get people interested?

 I would suggest going into schools and school fairs more. The more that kids see Friend’s name, the more they might be to coming on a visit. It is super helpful to get people out and talking about Friends and the amazing experience that they had and hopefully can inspire others to check it out for themselves.

In conclusion, I believe that it is always important to understand who is working behind the scenes. Grace Rowland is one of many who helps our university thrive, so shouldn't we try to learn from them? Maybe if we take a page out of Grace's book, our campus will change for the better.