LOS ANGELES — Residential Assistants at UCLA continue to make a positive impact and create environments for students that make them feel at home.
Residential Assistants are an incredibly important aspect to all college campuses, and UCLA is no exception. RAs are responsible for providing guidance to students in dormitory communities, ensuring emergency and crisis responses, and building an overall welcoming environment for students living on The Hill.
Rennan Cervik, current RA for Hedrick Summit Floor 7, originally wanted to become an RA to help students become accustomed to living at college.
“I wanted to become an RA because I wanted to help people feel more comfortable with the transition to college life. It’s a huge step, coming from a very structured and formulaic place like high school to suddenly have so much freedom and autonomy in college,” said Cervik.
Cervik is currently a second-year at UCLA, and this past quarter was his first time being an RA. He described his experience as becoming easier with time, and greatly enjoyable.
“I feel a lot better about it now actually. The fall quarter was a bit scary because obviously, I had never done it before so there was a degree of uncertainty in how the job was going to play out, but even after the first month, I think I was able to get a firm grip on it. Engaging with the community, planning events, going to meetings and additional training sessions; it gets a lot easier as time passes,” said Cervik.
Cervik described that he did not have a specific experience that led him to become an RA; rather, he was inspired by his own RA.
“I don’t think that there was one outstanding experience that I had in my first year, but I remember being on the fence about applying because I doubted that I would get the job. I went to go talk to my own RA about it and ask for her advice… she was very welcoming and gave me tons of advice on my resume and for interviews,” said Cervik.
Libby Stafford, third year at UCLA, described that she, unlike Cervik, did have a specific experience that led her to become an RA.
“During my freshman year, I struggled a lot with my mental health and I didn’t really know what to do or where I could go to find help… My RA was the first person I talked to about what was going on. She helped me navigate the process of going to CAPS and exploring resources on campus, and checked in with me regularly to see how I was doing… I really appreciated what my RA did for me, and that was a huge factor in helping me decide to apply for the role,” said Stafford.
Allison Neak, a first-year student at UCLA also had a positive experience with her RA, leading her to apply to become one herself.
“I was inspired to be an RA because my RA for the first half of this year was the best guy ever. He 3D printed Halloween decorations, gave us sewing kits to make frog plushies, and was just all-around really nice. I’d like to make people happy and comfortable like that. I’m already paying out-of-state tuition so it’d be nice to alleviate that financial burden,” said Neak.
An aspect that led first-year student Aiden Georgiev to apply to become an RA was to become part of a community other than just friends and fellow classmates students at UCLA.
He explained, “I just feel that the RA position opens up the opportunity to grow with yet another community aside from just my peers. I’d be able to connect with other like-minded individuals while having fun at the same time,” said Georgiev.
It’s clear that residential assistants continue to make a positive impact on welcoming students at UCLA. They truly have the ability to create a living environment that is not only safe, but also a community.
