SO you wanna be AWESOME?!

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Good choice. Being awesome is pretty awesome. I would know, because I am awesome.
A wise man once said,


You know when you read a word too many times and it starts to look weird? That’s happening with the word awesome to me right now. I guess I’ll just have to use a different word to describe awesomeness..like……

STUDENT LEADER.

Now, don’t go clickin’ off back to your facespaces and mybooks and whatnot ’cause I said “STUDENT LEADER.” and that might not sound like the most exciting thing in the world to you. But let me assure you. It is the most exciting thing in the world to me, and I would like to share my excitement with you.

BUT TRUDY, HOW DO I BECOME A STUDENT LEADER.?

Well, conveniently placed anonymous question, I will tell you! There are TONS of opportunities for STUDENT LEADER.ship around campus.

CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS.
You can lead a club or organization! There are over ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY (150+) CLUBS&ORGS ON CAMPUS. Everyone has beaten into your heads how important it is to get involved and blah blah blah so I won’t get into that. But if you’re in a club and you’re passionate about it, you can try to get on the executive board! Eboards consist of at least a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and maybe some more club-specific positions like Marketing Chair or Technical Officer or Designated Hat Person. It’s a bit of a time commitment to be an eboard member, but it’s super rewarding in that you get to steer the club in a direction you might want to see, and it’s a great resume builder!

RESIDENCE LIFE.
Resident Advisors are kind of badly represented on TV and movies and funny YouTube videos and whatnot. Everyone thinks we’re OUT TO GET YOU IN TROUBLE or BREAKIN’ UP PARTIES LEFT AND RIGHT or SNIFFING EVERY DOOR IN A HALLWAY TRYING TO BUST EVERYONE. But! While conduct and conflict are part of the Residence Life Staff’s job, that’s not all we do! Here’s a nice list format to break up this wall o’ text:

  • BULLET POINTS YEAH
  • anyway
  • RAs build community on their floors and in their buildings
    • that’s basically a textbook definition for being friends with everyone and making everyone else be friends with everyone too
  • RAs put on programs for the campus community
    • there’s a specific guide called the Residential Curriculum the pro staff puts together for the RAs and it’s our jobs to take a broad theme (like, HEALTHY LIVING) and turn it into a fun and engaging program that people will get something out of (like, FOOD)
    • just because the 4th floor RA is putting on a program in Leitch doesn’t mean only 4th floor Leitch residents can go! EVERYONE IS WELCOME. Residents, commuters, off campus friends..but probably not random people you find in the street
  • RAs serve as a resource
    • you know the “reference” section in a library? That’s basically what an RA’s room is. If you need info on anything happening on campus, help with academic issues, iSiS is being weird, your friends are being weird, it’s the middle of the night and you’re locked out of your room, it’s the middle of the night and you’re in need of some protection (I like to stock up at Safetypalooza until someone tells me to leave some for everyone else to which I hastily reply, “I’M AN RA THESE ARE FOR MY RESIDENTS” and then run away), you fell on your face and need a band-aid (I have an overstocked first aid kit in my room)..you get the point!
  • RAs enforce the code of conduct
    • this is what everyone assumes all RAs do all the time. Honestly, documenting incidents is kind of a pain. We have to get everyone’s information, let our supervisors know, let the RD on duty know, write up an in depth third person description of exactly what happened, follow up with the residents..
ANYWAY being an RA is great leadership experience, learning to work well with a team, bettering your people skills, all that good stuff. And Resident Advisor responsibilities are fairly uniform wherever you go, so if potential employers see that you were an RA they will immediately know what kind of stuff you did and what kind of skills you learned.

The application process for RA selection for next year is already underway, but keep an eye out in the fall for the online applications! Basically you fill out an online application, sign up for a Res Life 101 class which is basically a group interview process with other applicants and Res Life pro staff, and have a one on one interview with one of the Resident Directors of the halls. Yay!

ORIENTATION
Do you remember your orientation? Was it THE BEST EXPERIENCE EVER?! If I was your OL it probably was.

This happened.

Orientation Leaders basically have the best job ever. Here are some more bullet points.
  • hang out in Lowell all summer with free housing
  • get paid full time
  • MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN STUDENT’S LIVES
  • guide incoming students around campus and give them all the info they could ever need about everything UMass Lowell
  • hang out with Dean Siegel and Rowdy and sometimes Marty Meehan
  • be generally silly
Orientation applications are out RIGHT MEOW and are due on February 26th. The application process is pretty great. You fill out an online application, and then join us and all the applicants in what is referred to as SELECTION WEEKEND. All day Saturday March 2nd you hang out with a current OL and a group of other applicants and basically just do a bunch of icebreakers and games and fun things so we can get to know you and your leadership style. Then Sunday the 3rd you have your interview. Orientation is super speedy with their decisions so you’ll usually get your letter within the next week. GOOD STUFF GOOD TIMES



So! Those are some sweet things you can do to be an AWESOME STUDENT LEADER. 

HAVE AN AWESOME DAY

-Trudy aka Trudes MaGrudes aka Tru Dat
(ps you also get awesome nicknames)