Gearing up for your college life

As freshman Dov Rhodes unpacked his belongings and threw away his trash, he looked around his room in Wright Quad -- his new home for the next nine months -- and said it felt weird to be in college. Rhodes said even as he loaded up his car and left his home in Wilmette, Ill., he felt a mixture of emotions about starting school.\n"Part of me was excited about getting away from my family," he said. "But I also was sad about leaving my friends and nervous about meeting new people."\nRhodes is not alone. Being away from home and in an unfamiliar setting can be quite overwhelming to many new students. It's the resident assistants' and orientation assistants' goal to make these new students feel at home.\n"In terms of basic comfort, resident assistants and orientation assistants decorate their floor bulletin boards and residence halls as well as make themselves readily available during move-in day to point newcomers in the right direction," said Bridget Stenger, assistant director for selection, retention and staff development. "The most important thing is to be really supportive and assure their floor members that it's OK to be nervous."\nFor eight to nine days prior to move-in, RAs go through an intensive training process in order to ensure they are thoroughly prepared for each and every responsibility their job entails. Training sessions educate RAs on policies regarding student disciplinary regulations, proper evacuation of a building and documenting situations within their residence hall. \nRAs also familiarize themselves with the Indiana promise, which is introduced at the Freshman Induction Ceremony. The promise, developed just last year, contains three elements that raise the question, "Who are you going to be at IU?"\nResidential Programs and Services Director Bob Weith said the RAs are trained to uphold the ideals of IU and to teach them to others. He said the training sessions stress the importance of "working in conjunction with student ethics."\nAside from becoming familiar with residence hall policies, the RAs are also taught the importance of enthusiasm toward the newcomers. \nRAs keep students up-to-date about the residence center activities held during the first week. \n"Each center has a different theme and they host an event pertaining to that theme, such as an ice cream social or a band concert," Stenger said.\nRAs spend time getting to know the members of their floor family for the year. Two floor meetings are held prior to the first day of class. Wednesday night, once everyone has settled in, the RA introduces the general rules and information pertaining to their floor. The meeting is also a way to become acquainted with floor mates and play introductory icebreaker games. Sunday night gives the residents a chance to follow up and ask any last minute questions before classes begin. \n"Throughout the week, they learn how to develop a community for their floor and the importance of connecting with the students," said Associate Director of Orientation Melanie Payne.\nOrientation assistants, however, go through a slightly different process. Unlike the RAs, they volunteer their time solely for Welcome Week and start preparing the residence halls for the new students in the early spring.\nPayne said because they don't have the responsibilities of the RAs, they are able to focus on getting students energized and excited about living in the dorms.\n"The OAs help out because of personal enthusiasm," she said. \nThey spend the last few days before move-in working with the RAs to finish building preparations, set up check-in and make sure everything runs smoothly. \n"Both groups are so excited for the new students to arrive and get things going," Payne said. "They have worked so hard to put the freshmen at ease and it is time for them to take credit for it."\n-- Contact staff writer Lindsay Kaplan at lkaplan@indiana.edu.