Hosted by: Delurey RA Staff
CB Category: Veritas
Objective: Create bulletin boards with clues that lead residents to fun activities and learning
Friday, March 7, 2014
CB Spotlight: Week of 3/10/2014
Treasure Hunt Bulletin Boards
Hosted by: Delurey RA Staff
CB Category: Veritas
Objective: Create bulletin boards with clues that lead residents to fun activities and learning
Click on the treasure map to see the winning bulletin boards that went along with this CB!
Hosted by: Delurey RA Staff
CB Category: Veritas
Objective: Create bulletin boards with clues that lead residents to fun activities and learning
Monday, March 3, 2014
Bulletin Board Winners: February 2014
East Campus
Main Campus
Winner: Conor O'Neil, Sheehan
Bulletin Board: The Evolution of Bond
Winner: Joey Reckamp, Delurey
Bulletin Board: Be an Olympian / Medal Count
South Campus
Winner: Erin Malone, Stanford
Bulletin Board: Be My Valentine: Love by Numbers
West Campus
Winner: Shannon Markert, Rudolph
Bulletin Board: Reasons You Are One in a Minion
Friday, February 28, 2014
CB Spotlights: January/February 2014
Magic Show
Hosted by: Sheehan RA Staff
CB Category: Unitas
Objective: Enjoy a magical performance by a Sheehan resident for Sheehan residents
Dan Wu, Sheehan RA who helped organize this CB, shared the following about how it was planned:
CB Category: Veritas
Objective: Give residents information about different kinds of grilled cheeses and let them try out their favorite
CB Category: Unitas
Objective: Bring together sophomore residents to celebrate Valentine's Day with music and sweet treats
CB Category: Unitas
Objective: Welcome back residents with some gum or mints and a chance to mingle with their fellow floor members
Hosted by: Sheehan RA Staff
CB Category: Unitas
Objective: Enjoy a magical performance by a Sheehan resident for Sheehan residents
Dan Wu, Sheehan RA who helped organize this CB, shared the following about how it was planned:
The Magic Show CB was all planned by my own resident, who is a professional magician himself! I simply ensured that a room was reserved and any necessary equipment that he needed was provided. I briefly introduced him before he started his Magic Show. Overall, it went well with great attendance and many leaving in awe of his magic tricks. He did everything from card tricks to correctly guessing certain words or numbers that only you were shown.
Grilled Cheese Night
Hosted by: West Campus RAsCB Category: Veritas
Objective: Give residents information about different kinds of grilled cheeses and let them try out their favorite
CASA Fed Valentine's Party
Hosted by: CASA Fed RA StaffCB Category: Unitas
Objective: Bring together sophomore residents to celebrate Valentine's Day with music and sweet treats
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| CASA Fed residents make a congo line during the Valentine's Party! |
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| CASA Fed RAs show their Valentine's Day spirit! |
Fresh Breath, Fresh Start
Hosted by: Ayo Onatunde, St. ClareCB Category: Unitas
Objective: Welcome back residents with some gum or mints and a chance to mingle with their fellow floor members
Friday, February 21, 2014
How Being an RA Has Helped Me in "Real Life"
by Bridget Kiley, Stanford RA
When we arrive at college, we enter a brand new place where we are exposed to hundreds of other fresh-faced students, un-filled course requirements and thousands of decisions to make from “what do I wear today?” to “what will my major and future career be?”
Some freshmen enter their first year of college witnessing RAs through a certain lens, which portrays them as the ones ending parties, on duty late nights, and handling difficult situations. Inevitably, individuals viewing RAs through that lens end up thinking, “There is NO way I will ever become an RA.” Yet, they are seeing through a lens portraying a small sliver of the RA experience, which shows a distorted image.
I was fortunate to see the RA experience through a different lens then the one described above that led to one of the most formative decisions I have made during my time at Villanova. That decision was, “I WANT to be an RA.”
I had some great RAs and friends who were in the role during my undergrad years. I learned about what I could gain from the experience through those individuals, but it was not until I was actually living out the role of RA that I realized the effect the experience would have on me and the ways it would prepare me for “real life.” From relationships, to skills for my everyday life, to learning how to expertly handle difficult situations and preparing me for a future professional career, I value all the ways I have grown from my experiences in Residence Life.
With 15 RAs on my direct staff, 500 students in my building, 100+ Residence Life staff members throughout campus, and a whole staff of professionals working in Residence Life, you see the immense amount of individuals, work and organization involved. It gives you an appreciation for the work behind any staff or organization. In being with so many others, you can learn a lot about communication, developing interpersonal relationships and group dynamics. You are immersed in community building, group meetings and one-on-one conversations simply because you are a part of the community. In turn, you discover a web of skills and knowledge through all of the people and experiences you have. Crafting skills have been a huge area of growth for me. I have learned about the beauty of mod podge and created numerous Christmas presents as a result of decorating my hall and uncovering my artistic side.
Being an RA has not just provided me with the opportunity to make friends and get crafty. I feel prepared career-wise through this job. Forbes came out with an article in 2013, “Top 10 skills employers want in 20-something employees.” After reading through it, it helped me realize how much the RA experience has prepared me. Forbes list includes:
Questions, comments, or just want to chat and see if being a RA is as cool as I want to convince you it is? Email me at bkiley01@villanova.edu or stop by Stanford 438!
When we arrive at college, we enter a brand new place where we are exposed to hundreds of other fresh-faced students, un-filled course requirements and thousands of decisions to make from “what do I wear today?” to “what will my major and future career be?”
Some freshmen enter their first year of college witnessing RAs through a certain lens, which portrays them as the ones ending parties, on duty late nights, and handling difficult situations. Inevitably, individuals viewing RAs through that lens end up thinking, “There is NO way I will ever become an RA.” Yet, they are seeing through a lens portraying a small sliver of the RA experience, which shows a distorted image.
I was fortunate to see the RA experience through a different lens then the one described above that led to one of the most formative decisions I have made during my time at Villanova. That decision was, “I WANT to be an RA.”
I had some great RAs and friends who were in the role during my undergrad years. I learned about what I could gain from the experience through those individuals, but it was not until I was actually living out the role of RA that I realized the effect the experience would have on me and the ways it would prepare me for “real life.” From relationships, to skills for my everyday life, to learning how to expertly handle difficult situations and preparing me for a future professional career, I value all the ways I have grown from my experiences in Residence Life.
With 15 RAs on my direct staff, 500 students in my building, 100+ Residence Life staff members throughout campus, and a whole staff of professionals working in Residence Life, you see the immense amount of individuals, work and organization involved. It gives you an appreciation for the work behind any staff or organization. In being with so many others, you can learn a lot about communication, developing interpersonal relationships and group dynamics. You are immersed in community building, group meetings and one-on-one conversations simply because you are a part of the community. In turn, you discover a web of skills and knowledge through all of the people and experiences you have. Crafting skills have been a huge area of growth for me. I have learned about the beauty of mod podge and created numerous Christmas presents as a result of decorating my hall and uncovering my artistic side.
Being an RA has not just provided me with the opportunity to make friends and get crafty. I feel prepared career-wise through this job. Forbes came out with an article in 2013, “Top 10 skills employers want in 20-something employees.” After reading through it, it helped me realize how much the RA experience has prepared me. Forbes list includes:
#1 Ability to work in a team
#2 Ability to make decisions and solve problems
#3 Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work
#4 Ability to communicate verbally with people inside and outside an organization
#5 Ability to obtain and process informationIf you provide the motivation and care in the RA job, these ALL are skills you learn to master. Working with crisis situations, responding to incidents, time management, planning events, communicating with residents, not to mention the confidence you build through knocking on doors and talking to strangers… (I could go on)… show that being an RA has indeed helped me in real life. Will you let it do the same for you?
Questions, comments, or just want to chat and see if being a RA is as cool as I want to convince you it is? Email me at bkiley01@villanova.edu or stop by Stanford 438!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
How To... Host an Awesome Community Builder!
by Elyssa Strickler, Moriarty Head RA
Whether or not you want to acknowledge it, your most successful CBs require planning weeks prior to implementation, as this is the safest way to iron out any wrinkles and avoid disaster (or awkward, one-person-attendance, but you get the picture.) Knowing where, when, how, and why the program is taking place will increase attendance, as well as resident satisfaction and appreciation for your efforts.
Honestly, the best way to ensure that residents attend a CB is to plan something that they want to do! Just ask them, it’s that simple. You can do this in person, say, at your floor meetings; or you can get a bit more creative! Survey monkey is a personal favorite of mine. By writing up a survey for my residents, I can include questions about potential CBs as well as future floor meeting planning, and information for my bulletin boards.
Your next step, of course, is planning the CB. Pick a time that works for your residents as well as you. If you end up having to cancel a night in Philly that you've been looking forward to for months, you will probably be a little bitter and your residents will notice; if you seem like you don’t want to be there, they sure won’t! A great way to ensure this does not happen is to sit down with your planner (or however you keep track of your crazy schedule) and commit to some days that you are going to use for CBs. This will give you lots of time to put together awesome advertisements and get your residents pumped up for the program, as well as ensure that they don’t make plans for that particular night.
A good friend once taught me the ‘six P’s to success’: “prior proper planning prevents poor performance.” Keep this in mind and you are bound to host an extremely successful CB.
And if all else fails, order food!!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Bulletin Board Winners: January 2014
East Campus
Main Campus
It's a two way tie!
Winner: Giorgi Kalandadze, Sheehan
Bulletin Board: 2013 in Pictures
Winner: Stephanie Misdary, Sheehan
Bulletin Board: Are You Living the Dream?
It's a two way tie!
Winner: Ashby Mammen, Moriarty
Bulletin Board: Find the Secret Image
Winner: Steven Gulotta, Simpson
Bulletin Board: Find Your Favorite Color
South Campus
Winner: Kris Reclusado, St. Monica
Bulletin Board: 2014 Presents a Year of Dreams
West Campus
Winner: Lauren Raguette, Gallen
Bulletin Board: Goal Setting
Friday, January 24, 2014
How To... Make a Winning Bulletin Board!
by Nata Flinn, Katharine Head RA
Whether you’re a 6-year RA veteran or this is your first year on the job, chances are that you've experienced that late-night bulletin board struggle at least once. Res Life is closed for the night, the printer in your campus office is out of paper, and you know your Staff Supervisor is coming around first thing in the morning. Aughhh! So you staple a few papers to the board, sprinkle on some glitter, and call it a night, promising yourself that you’ll be better next month.
So what can you do to make your bulletin boards better? While we might not all have the capabilities of Res Life’s very own craft goddess Michele, here are a few tips on how to make your bulletin boards rock!
Bulletin boards are the perfect time to tap into your inner gold (even if you have to reach deep down in there), so get planning! First things first, you have to think of the board’s content. There are great resources that you can tap into on the internet. I’m a personal fan of Pinterest myself. But oftentimes the best sources of inspiration are all around you - your residents! Talk to them and see what they’d like to see up on the board. Residents typically like bulletin boards best when they are interactive, relevant, and aesthetically pleasing.
Maybe they've taken up a recent interest in astrology, so why not post the monthly horoscope predictions for each sign and write the names of your residents under their sign? March Madness is quickly approaching, so how about starting up a Bulletin Board bracket? You can make it a CB and Bulletin Board all in one!
Once you've figured out what you want to do, it’s time to figure out how to do it! If you’re stuck this is a great time to tap into some of your resources, cough cough Michele. Crafty staff members and returners can also give you some great ideas on how to start visualizing your board. When you've got it all figured out in your head, take pen to paper and start drawing out a rough sketch of your board. Making sure it keeps in line with the bulletin board guidelines, hand in your bulletin board proposal to your Staff Supervisor. Once you've got the green light, take a look at these tips to bring your board to life!
Whether you’re a 6-year RA veteran or this is your first year on the job, chances are that you've experienced that late-night bulletin board struggle at least once. Res Life is closed for the night, the printer in your campus office is out of paper, and you know your Staff Supervisor is coming around first thing in the morning. Aughhh! So you staple a few papers to the board, sprinkle on some glitter, and call it a night, promising yourself that you’ll be better next month.
So what can you do to make your bulletin boards better? While we might not all have the capabilities of Res Life’s very own craft goddess Michele, here are a few tips on how to make your bulletin boards rock!
Bulletin boards are the perfect time to tap into your inner gold (even if you have to reach deep down in there), so get planning! First things first, you have to think of the board’s content. There are great resources that you can tap into on the internet. I’m a personal fan of Pinterest myself. But oftentimes the best sources of inspiration are all around you - your residents! Talk to them and see what they’d like to see up on the board. Residents typically like bulletin boards best when they are interactive, relevant, and aesthetically pleasing.
Maybe they've taken up a recent interest in astrology, so why not post the monthly horoscope predictions for each sign and write the names of your residents under their sign? March Madness is quickly approaching, so how about starting up a Bulletin Board bracket? You can make it a CB and Bulletin Board all in one!
Once you've figured out what you want to do, it’s time to figure out how to do it! If you’re stuck this is a great time to tap into some of your resources, cough cough Michele. Crafty staff members and returners can also give you some great ideas on how to start visualizing your board. When you've got it all figured out in your head, take pen to paper and start drawing out a rough sketch of your board. Making sure it keeps in line with the bulletin board guidelines, hand in your bulletin board proposal to your Staff Supervisor. Once you've got the green light, take a look at these tips to bring your board to life!
- Make your bulletin board title quick and easy to read! Same goes for all of your written text. Residents will be more likely to read your bulletin board if it’s got short blurbs of text, not a doctorate dissertation.
- Make sure your bulletin board seems “balanced.” Try to take up as much space on the board as possible, without the board seeming too squished or having huge gaps of space.
- Be creative with your use of colors, or stick within a “color theme!”
- When possible, try to make your bulletin board interactive or informative! If you’re on West, have residents submit their favorite recipes and put them up on the board. You could also have residents bring you something that is representative of them (a memento, a photo from home, etc.) that they'd be willing to share and post it up on the board to create a “Diversity Wall.” The possibilities are endless when you give yourself enough time to plan!
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