Meet the Staff
Amy Sine, Director of Residential Life
Office: Caroline Hall, 1st Floor Lobby area
asine2@washcoll.edu
Resident Assistants:
Student Affairs as a Career
Maybe you are working on a different career in grad school but have RA experience. Did you know you can use that RA experience to possibly get a grad school job? If you are a RA, it’s something worth checking out!
Many medium to large universities have part time positions for graduate students in residential life. (There are other grad positions in Student Affairs too but with different compensation.) You don’t necessarily need to be pursuing a graduate degree in Higher Education- many hire a variety of degree seekers. Grad position compensation in Residential Life typically includes an on campus apartment, meal plan, and stipend.
Duties can vary according the specific position but the majority tend to be assistant hall directors and assist full time hall staff with programming, RA supervision, assignments, work orders, duty, etc. Student Affairs grad staff tend to be more connected to university resources, are “in the know,” and have a varied, strong social community (from both classes and fellow grad co-workers). They also have access to leadership and other skills development opportunities not typically offered or available in academic graduate programs. They certainly have opportunities to put any leadership skills learned to the test in their job!
Yes! Residential Life focuses on the many aspects of running the residence halls so it’s not just programming, advising, counseling, supervision and development of student and professional staff, being a club advisor, teaching outside the classroom, emergency response! It’s facilities and occupancy management, strategic planning, student development theories in action, advocacy, finance, construction and renovation projects, and more. Everything it takes to run a small town? That’s Residential Life!
Residential Life is typically under the Student Affairs umbrella. What else falls under Student Affairs? Student Engagement (often called Student Activities), Career centers, Multicultural centers, ministry centers, health and counseling offices, judicial offices that handle student conduct. Depending on the size of the institution, sometimes they run dining services, have their own facilities staff, or include Financial Aid, bookstore, mailroom.
Not necessarily! Although most entry level professional positions require a master’s degree, if you have experience as a student staff member, either a graduate RA or hall director, RA, student mentor, or other Student Affairs position, you can still apply for entry level professional positions. Indeed, having a degree outside of higher education can be an advantage since it helps you connect with and advise those students. The essential part is a desire to help students succeed- even if it means holding them accountable!
YES!!! If a Student Affairs professional can’t solve something themselves, they advocate
for the students, they get them connected to someone who can. They make sure that
students who are struggling know they aren’t alone and what can be done to help them.
They learn how to navigate bureaucracy to effect change, collaborating, building support
from allies, securing funding, and more critical skills that are behind any successful
social movement.
Student Affairs professionals take students feedback on what works and what isn’t
working for them, and advocate for change. They do research on current trends, propose
changes, get students involved in the change making process. Some professionals have
particular areas of interest, like focusing on first generation students or the Latinx
collegiate experience, but that doesn’t mean they don’t help everyone else! Since
it’s the goal of Student Affairs to help students succeed, in college and beyond,
social advocacy is at the core of everything we do.