Elmira Jeffries – Temple University

Chances are you were not a fan of your RA when you lived in university housing–it happens.

I was a RA for Temple University for the 2007-2008 academic year; my building, Elmira Jeffries, housed about 130 residents, 36 of which were (more or less) my responsibility. I created a variety of programs and events throughout the school year, I made myself available for ad-hoc “advising”, and, at some points, I confronted and resolved serious issues. I was the mentor for the building’s Executive Senate, which is a representative resident group; my duties to them was limited to managing the scope of their work and making campus resources available to them–they were fairly self-sufficient.

It is important to me to understand that the value of this experience is completely relevant to my career path. A large part of my experience was about analyzing and understanding the culture in my building and tailoring it to the point that it actually encourages academic, professional, personal, and social progress–understand you can’t force these things. This experience left my leadership and my confidence finely tuned with excellence.

My Neighbors