Resident Assistants

The Resident Assistant (RA) is an important member of a residence hall staff team that provides guidance and support for all residential students in the assigned residence hall.  A rewarding job for leaders who are committed to building community, fostering diversity, and living the UP mission, RAs are a vital part of creating and maintaining the community of hospitality in our residence halls.

The RA position provides a room and board scholarship during the period of employment. When available, RAs will be assigned a double room at single occupancy.

What Does a Resident Assistant Do?

Each resident assistant is assigned to a specific residence hall floor or wing. There are two major areas in which resident assistants support their communities through their day-to-day work:

Community Development

Under the direction of the hall director, resident assistants: 

• Develop an inclusive community and a culture of communal responsibility in their hall that promotes the academic, social, and spiritual components of Holy Cross residentiality
• Build rapport with residents through daily interactions and provide a consistent presence as a role model and resource
• Assist in the planning of programming and community events in the hall and support the development of signature events unique to their hall community
• Create welcoming and safe environments for their residents that promote opportunities for growth, study, faith, service, and fun
• Assist students with academic, social, spiritual, and personal matters, awareness of campus resources, and referring students to other offices for additional support 
• Recruit and actively support residents for hall leadership opportunities
• Attend weekly celebration of Mass and assist with other spiritual activities, such as the annual Hall Retreat
• Understand and follow University policies and procedures, as well as educating students and consistently enforcing regulations
• Be willing to make this position their first priority after academics; RAs cannot have outside employment without pre-approval from their supervisors. Being an RA is also incompatible with holding ASUP office and many other campus leadership positions
• Have leadership skills, a commitment to faith and service, and a desire to serve others within their halls

Hall Operations & Administration

• Maintain regular on-call duty hours in rotation with other resident assistants in their assigned residence hall, including weeknight and weekend duty during fall and spring semester
• Respond to concerns brought forward by students, and manage crisis situations
• Assist with building and safety issues
• Participate in hall staff training, development, and formation
• Meet weekly with the hall director and attend all weekly staff meetings
• Complete projects and duties assigned by the hall director or the Office of Residence Life

Who Can Be a Resident Assistant?

Successful candidates are required to:

• Be a rising junior or above, and enrolled as a student in good standing with UP during the duration of their employment
• Commit a significant portion of time to both position responsibilities and academic study
• Commit to the nine-month contract beginning with training in August and concluding with tasks related to end-of-year hall closing. During breaks, RAs are required to be present until the vacation period officially begins and return by the time it officially ends
• Work nights and weekends for assigned hall duty and to respond to critical situations
• Have superior interpersonal skills and be able to develop rapport with a variety of personalities

GPA Requirements:

• Have a current cumulative GPA of at least 2.5. If you have a cumulative GPA of less than 2.5, you are not eligible to apply at this time.
• Interested candidates with a cumulative GPA between 2.5-3.0 will be prompted to respond to the following statement: Please submit two paragraphs describing how you plan to support your own academics while attending to the full duties of the Resident Assistant position.

For more information, please visit the RA Application page.