This March, a number of Covenant students participated in the application process to become Resident Assistants (RAs) next school year. After an initial technical process of submitting forms and filling out paperwork, a group interview was held on Wednesday, March 3 to determine which candidates would proceed to the next round. These candidates were allowed to attend the interview either in mid-afternoon or that night.
Although the stakes were high, this first interview had a relaxed and less formal feel to it. Candidates were told to bring objects that described them and how Covenant College had impacted their lives. Stephanie Smole ’24 brought a light bulb to symbolize light and described how special it is to bring joy and sparkle. Even when we are surrounded by darkness, she explained, Jesus is our source of light. Many other objects were used by other students, such as a shoebox, soap, a pencil, a textbook and even a car part.
In all, the group interviews were a positive experience. Smole reported that she knew almost everyone in the group, and that she enjoyed hearing other people’s stories. Decisions were disclosed on Friday, March 5 as to who would be allowed to proceed to the next round.
Kaity Shelley ’22, who is currently an RA and plans to return next semester, explained that the group interview when she first applied for RA looked very different than it does currently.
In the past, potential RAs were required to sign up on Handshake and the group interview was spread out over two to three nights. Instead of everyone bringing an object and explaining it, there were timed team building exercises. Candidates were analyzed based on how they interacted with each other in these situations and had to demonstrate that they had stable social habits and were able to remain confident under stress.
Shelley said she prefers the new format for incoming candidates to the old one because she believes it does a better job of taking into account the talents of individuals with different conversation styles and personalities.
As for this semester, because Shelley is a returning RA, she did not participate in the group interview with the new candidates but instead took part in a group exercise specifically for returning RAs. In this exercise, each RA took an item, a picture, or a collage of pictures to represent their first year as RA. This was a very relaxed environment in which the RAs could reflect on their reasons for coming back and also share with each other how they had grown or how their expectations had been exceeded over the past year. They were able to check in on each other’s mental health by both evaluating the past year and looking forward to the next one. Assessments were also held between the RDs and returning RAs individually, which had a conversational feel.
Returning to the first-time candidates, interviews took place on March 9. These had a much more official feel and were held between a student and faculty members. Many thought-provoking and complex questions were asked and the interviewees were expected to come up with answers quickly and on the spot, much as the RAs will have to do in real life situations on the job.
At the same time, the individual interviews “felt like a conversation,” according to Smole, and she felt well prepared to answer the questions after reading the application packet beforehand. The individual interviews were an important part of the application process and served as a final test to see who would be best qualified to fill these leadership positions, facilitating hall comradery and dealing with any crisis that may arise throughout the following semester.
“It’s a fun experience going through the interview process,” Smole said. She was “really impressed” and said that the process was very organized and “intentional.” Shelley added that even if she hadn’t become an RA, she would have been grateful for the process because she got to meet new people and see what the process was like. She is grateful for the experience and says that it is not like other application processes because it is very genuine and allows every candidate to feel loved, heard and seen.
According to Devon Crabtree ’22, “This whole process from start to finish was truly rewarding. One of my favorite parts of the whole process was getting to hear each other’s stories, how God had been transforming each person’s lives throughout their time at Covenant, and getting to see what skills/experience they brought to the table.”
The selection process ended on March 15 when the 2021-2022 RAs were officially given the positions.