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
• Have prior experience living in UP residence halls
• Maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. RAs whose GPA fall below this may be put on probation or released from their position. Interested candidates with a cumulative GPA less than 3.0 will be prompted to provide an explanation within the RA application which will be used to determine if their application will be considered
• 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

For more information, please visit the RA Application page.