A day in the life of an RA
By: K.J. Stimpson
Issue date: 2/3/09 Section: News
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Yet the RA of the first south wing at Eddy has a busy day ahead of her. As she gets ready for class, she runs through, in her head, the things she needs to get done during the day.
As she leaves the hallway, headed to her 9:30 a.m. class, Freeman steps over a dead body outline taped to the floor, having chosen her halls theme to be based on CSI.
"I really like my dead body," Freeman said.
Freeman will be gone for most of the day because of classes. She won't be returning until around 6:30 that night.
The elementary education major doesn't stop there though. After classes on Thursday, she has about a half hour to kill before she sits down for her hour at Eddy's front desk.
Working the front desk is only one of many tasks the RA must perform on a duty night at Eddy. Freeman's first thought as she goes on duty, "It's going to be a late night."
However, she said in general she is a night owl, with a pretty up beat and random personality.
She says she chose to become an RA for three reasons. A friend of hers was an RA at Bernalillo Hall, the job helps pay for room and board at school, and it is a beneficial job in that it helps her prepare for interaction and to be the type of person she wants to be when she goes into a career in education.
"I really like helping people," Freeman said, "and I like hanging out with people, and I like knowing people can talk to me, and if they need help, then I am there, and I can help them."
During her rounds Thursday nights, Freeman walks around the dorms with fellow RA Joel Seymour, filling out a checklist as they walk around Eddy.
Some of the duties of an RA, according to Freeman, are to help residents who lock themselves out, check to make sure doors are secure, residents aren't violating quiet hours, and "making sure people aren't drinking or doing drugs."
As they do their rounds, Freeman and Seymour interact with residents passing by in the hallways.
When she isn't in classes or on duty, to relax she likes to play games, Freeman and some of the residents and other RAs sit down together in the first floor lobby and play different games most nights to help ease out of their long day.
Adding some pep to dorm life, other than playing games in the lobby, Freeman said, is that all the RAs this have super hero names. Hers is "Mistress Duchess," given to her by Eddy Hall Director Rachelle Self.
On Thursday, in particular, the day is long for RA Jessica Freeman, not ending until about two o'clock Friday morning, but as she said, "At the end of the day I'm exhausted … but it's a good exhausted."
That is just one day in the life of an Eastern New Mexico University RA.