[nabs-l] Becoming an RA

Sami Osborne ligne14 at verizon.net
Fri Feb 24 05:01:36 UTC 2017


Hi all,

I just got an email today telling us when applications are due 
for the students to become an RA for next year.  I think it would 
be very interesting to become one, because it would allow me to 
have an on-campus job as well as giving me the opportunity to 
meet/interact more with the other students as well as being able 
to manage whatever problems they're having with living in the 
dorms.  Plus, the advantage of being an RA at my school is that 
you get to have your own room, which is good in my opinion, 
because, (I posted about this a couple months ago,) my experience 
living with two roommates has been somewhat of a disaster this 
past year.  I'd just like to know if you guys have become/are 
currently an RA on your college campus.  Is it possible to be one 
as blind students? If so, how was/is your experience so far?

I also had a few concerns I wanted to address with you guys 
before I apply for the position.  First of all, the director of 
Residence Life knows that I'm totally blind.  In your opinion, 
may that cause him to immediately reject my application simply 
because he thinks I can't accomplish the job for whatever reason? 
If my application is rejected, (either for that or any other 
reason,) would I be able to discuss with him why it's been 
rejected, since I have no control in his overall decision?
Second, I know that RA's have to address every kind of problem 
that the students living in their unit are having.  Some of these 
things are difficult or impossible to solve.  For example, when I 
was walking back to my dorm from class one day, I talked to one 
of my acquaintances, (who lives next door to me,) who was waiting 
for our RA to come back because he had some kind of problem with 
the shower in his unit.  I honestly have no idea how I, or even 
most people, would be able to fix something like that, especially 
since I have absolutely no experience with this kind of thing.  
My RA actually would like to become a mechanical engineer, so I 
guess he would have experience with that.
Third, are RA's allowed to go home/leave campus for an extended 
period of time, like on weekends or studying abroad? The reason 
I'm asking is because I go home on weekends, (which is an 
advantage for me, since I live only fifteen minutes away from 
campus).  One of the main reasons I have to go home is because I 
have piano lessons every week at a music school that's an hour 
away from my county, and I usually depend on my mother to drive 
me there (I haven't  got any mobility training in using public 
transit such as trains, and taking a cab there would be too 
expensive, since it's an hour away).  I'm also planning to study 
abroad during my junior year, and therefore, if I was an RA, they 
would probably have to look for a replacement, unless RA's are 
not allowed to study abroad for some reason.  Also, that being 
said, is an RA position a temporary, one-yet-long position, or is 
it a permanent one unless I resign/get fired?

I hope to hear from you guys soon.

Thanks very much and have a great night,

Sami




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