Clark – Week 2 – Office of Housing and Residence Life, Mississippi University for Women

Activities:

• Completed comparing spreadsheet information (roommate name, residence hall, and room number) and Floor Charts to ensure they matched up
• Updated housing spreadsheets
• Began updating the Residence Director Handbook and the Residence Assistant Handbook
• Assigned rooms and roommates
• Worked with Sirena to contact students regarding their current housing assignments
• Checked student’s admission status in the computer to determine whether or not we could assign the student their residence hall, room number, and roommate
• Reviewed the RHA Constitutions and made necessary changes to it
• Attended staff meeting
• Discussed the RA/RD Retreat with Jenn Kay and Sirena

Reflection:

This week, I worked a lot on checking and double-checking the housing assignments. In comparing the spreadsheets and Floor Charts, I noticed several inconsistencies that I needed to discuss with Sirena. Since she was out of town at the conference still, I had to make a note of all the changes and then sit down with Sirena once she got back in town to fix the inconsistencies. Something that was really interesting to me was how everyone really respects Sirena and her decisions. When I would find an inconsistency in the spreadsheet and Floor Charts, I would ask one of the full-time staff members their opinions, and none of them would feel comfortable making changes without Sirena’s approval.

I also spent a great deal of time working on updating the handbooks for the RDs and RAs. Since the office is transitioning from being called the Office of Community Living to the Office of Housing and Residence Life, all of the handbooks and paperwork need to change (Community Directors are now called Residence Directors, etc.).

Additionally, at MUW, students cannot be given housing assignments unless they have reached a Level 400 Admission Status. Once they reach Level 400, we can assign them to their rooms and roommates. While Sirena was gone, we were still accepting housing applications, so I would go into the EMAS system to check the admissions status for the new applications and determine whether or not we could give them their housing assignments. I have also been given the opportunity to interact with student leaders and students seeking housing or asking questions.

Sirena was back in the office on Thursday, and as soon as I got to the office that day, she gave me fabric swatches to choose from that the vendor from last week had sent. Sirena indicated that she wanted my opinion on the fabric that was going to be used in the office. Following this, we went to the Housing Staff Meeting. I was really encouraged to see Sirena interact with her staff. She allows them to make decisions on their own and supports them in the decision that they make. She also had us all go around the table and share something that we wanted to celebrate with each other, and she celebrated with each of us.

After the staff meeting, I met with Sirena and Jenn who were talking about the new RHA organization that they were starting on campus. Sirena asked me to review their constitution to make sure everything sounded good. After reviewing this, I discussed my suggestions with Jenn who appreciated my feedback.

Finally, I sat down with Sirena for about four hours to fix all of the inconsistencies in the spreadsheet and the Floor Chart. We then began to assign the new applications to rooms and roommates. I was really impressed with Sirena when she would go through these applications. While it was a very tedious job to complete, Sirena would go above and beyond to ensure that students were in the residence hall of their choice with the roommate of their choice. Since they do not have a computer system to assign roommates, this took quite a while, and we were not even done by the time I had to leave.

I have really enjoyed working with both the students and full-time staff members, especially Sirena. I have learned so much about being a good leader and a boss from her. It is really exciting to work in this office. There is always so much going on, and I know that I will learn so much from my time here!

-Brittany Clark