Creating a home away from home

Like father, like daughter: Don Dauphinee ’68, a resident assistant in URI’s Bressler Hall, poses in front of his old hall with daughter Amanda, a senior psychology and English major who was also an RA for two years.

RAs TODAY: Rebecca Murray and Glen Whitfield are just two of the 115 resident assistants that live and work with their peers in URI’s 19 Residence Halls.

Snapshot in time: Resident assistant Don Dauphinee, (bottom, center) and his residents get ready to decorate their floor in Bressler Hall with nylon stockings and Christmas trees for the 1968 holiday season.

Creating a home away from home

Job description: Be a friend, role model, surrogate parent, and counselor to new freshman and returning underclassman. Must be creative, able to design and organize programs, outings, and activities. Must be ready for a life-altering opportunity. The job: Resident Assistant at the University of Rhode Island.

“It’s such a rewarding job. You’re able to help the people in your building, have fun, and see the residents grow and mature throughout the year. It’s really great,” said Glen Whitfield, a secondary education major and resident assistant (RA) in Barlow Hall for the past three years.

Employed by URI’s Dept. of Housing and Residential Life, RAs live in the halls they work for and are trained to provide counseling, coordinate activities, and assist their residence hall director in maintaining community standards. At URI there are 115 RAs in 19 halls. In each of these, there is at least one RA on duty at night and throughout the weekend. But, in fact, RAs consider themselves always on the clock, according to Rebecca Murray, who has worked in Merrow Hall for the past two years.

“We’re paid for 20 hours a week, but what we do goes way beyond that. Whether it means sitting in the hallway with residents, talking if they have a problem, or going to events together,” she said.

RAs organize programs for their residents so they can socialize with others and meet new people. For example, Whitfield and the rest of the Barlow staff have held a Latin dancing workshop, ice skating at the Fleet Center in Providence, karaoke sessions, stress workshops, penny drives for various charities, and more.

It isn’t all fun and games, though, according to Whitfield. One of the most important, and toughest parts of being an RA is making sure that all your residents are safe and happy by enforcing quiet hours, rules, and reporting students as needed.

“The administrative part of the job is the toughest. You become friends with people then you might have to write them up. Sometimes residents don’t realize you have a job to do,” explained Whitfield.

“Oh and the middle-of-the-night knocks on your door because someone got locked out or needs something aren’t that much fun, either. But it’s all part of the job,” said Murray.

So, for all the headaches, the time commitment, and the midnight wake-up calls...is it worth it?

“Absolutely. It’s an unbelievable experience. I’ve met and made so many good friends. It’s not just living for the moment, the pay, or the single room. It goes beyond all that. I want to be a teacher and this is the greatest field experience there is. Hey, it says a lot that I have come back for three years. I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t having fun,” said Whitfield.

By Jennifer Smith ’02