How to: Getting Residents Involved on Campus

One of the hardest things for me, as an RA, is getting residents to become involved on campus. Perhaps it's the type of school I go to, but my residents are consistently the kind of student that goes to class, then comes directly home to play video games in their bedrooms. So, one of my biggest questions is how do I get these residents involved on campus, and how do I get them excited about being involved.

As a student, I'm a pretty involved person on campus. I hold three jobs (2 of which are on campus jobs), am part of multiple clubs, run campus-wide events, etc. So, when I try to get students engaged, I try my hardest to bring them along with me to club meetings. I'd say this is the easiest way to get residents to meet other students outside of classes and their halls.

Bringing them to your club meetings may not be enough, though. The activities fair is huge on my school's campus, and so bringing my residents to that was a big help as well, because the residents could get a chance to see what they enjoy, and not feel nervous while exploring these options.

Like I've written before, I think first year residents are a lot like children in some ways. They usually need their hands held when it comes to getting involved, because they're not sure of what to do, where to go, and who to contact to get involved. Bringing your residents to these types of events can pull them out of the comfort zone enough where they can explore without feeling nervous or afraid. Thinking back to my time as a first year, I remember my social anxiety was at an all-time high. So going to the activities fair was a big NO for me. Going to clubs was also a big NO for me. I hated meeting new people without having someone I could lean on, socially. Now, not all residents will be like this, and not all residents need hand holding. But for those who do, don't be afraid to bring them with you to things on campus. They may need it, just like I did.

Giving residents a push in the right direction is good as well. As an RA, I've pushed my residents to sign up for leadership roles, have helped them find out where they need to go or what they need to do to achieve their goals on campus. Sometimes, my pushes are gentle, but sometimes, they're firm. Different residents need different types of pushes in the right direction, but don't be afraid to push them. All residents need someone on their team, pushing them to do better and go further. Perhaps you aren't the only one on their team, but perhaps you are. So it's important to push every resident, whether they need your or not.

I also encourage my residents to go out and do things during the nights, when there are events on campus. I want my residents to go out, meet new people, and have fun. And because I'm often putting on campus-wide events, I usually know exactly what's going on every night of the week. Because of this, I encourage my residents to go out at night, to go to those events, and to have fun while they're there. Of course, it's always challenge by choice, but I'm often telling residents about free movie nights, or what's going on during Friday and Saturday nights that they can go to. This is a great way to get them out of their rooms, meeting new people, and having fun.

These aren't the only ways to get residents involved on campus, but these are a good starting point for residents to get out of their comfort zone and enjoy what the school has to offer, but in a way that they feel safe and comfortable doing so. Not all first years are into socializing, not all of them are extroverts, and not all of them are independent quite yet. And these residents are usually the ones that need help getting involved on campus the most.