St. Ambrose University has a very well-known residence life staff. One of the most important aspects of being a resident assistant is making sure the residents feel comfortable. This is generally speaking as it is a long-standing goal for SAU’s residence life to always be approachable and helpful. Senior Daniel Daley represents many of the good qualities a resident assistant should possess.

“I would say that every moment and every interaction with people matters,” Daley said. “You have no idea the magnitude of your effects that you have on the people around you on a daily basis. Everyday is an opportunity to be something that you wish to see more of!”

Daley has been a resident assistant for the past three years and has gained an extensive amount of experience over time. During his sophomore and junior year of college, Daley was a resident assistant in Bechtel Hall and is currently stationed in McCarthy Hall. Daley has only worked with either freshman or senior residents during his time in the residence life office. He found that there are different needs for different ages.

“Being an RA has created opportunities for me to meet so many people I typically wouldn’t unless I was given this position,” Daley said. “It makes me happy each year to see how far my residents have come just from the beginning of two semesters previous.”

Each month every resident assistant has to complete a program in which the residents can participate. Usually, the programs have holidays, campus events, or sports themes. Examples of previous programs include ice cream socials, on-campus sand volleyball, and more. 

“My most memorable program is probably the March Madness events we hosted in Bechtel,” Daley said. “Everybody on the floor got pretty competitive about it, and almost nearly the entire building had interacted with the program.” 

Being a resident assistant is not an easy job by any means and some aspects are not often talked about. The responsibility and pressure that comes with being a resident assistant can be very taxing on the mental state of a staff member. It is important to acknowledge that when in frightening moments, there is usually still a right or wrong way to go about it. With mandatory training, Daley has grown comfortable with handling a broad amount of scenarios. 

“My biggest takeaway from Residence Life would be learning that no matter who you are, what you’re going through, or how complicated things may seem, there are plenty of resources and people always around who are passionately committed to try and facilitate your problems with you,” Daley said.

If you are looking to apply to become a resident assistant, please view more information on the SAU Residence Life webpage.