RA: Resident Assistant, or Really Anxious

by Eddie Sonnie

Christopher Newport’s Department of Residence Life has helped me figure out who I am and what I want to be in life, and since joining the ResLife team, I have strived to be better every day. I applied to be a resident assistant last year, but unfortunately, I didn’t make it through to the end. This year I reapplied and made it to the final boss. The Resident Assistant In Training Series (TRAITS). From here it was either get hired, get offered alternate status or be cut off. 

I knew I was ready to take on the job as a resident assistant, and I felt confident in my resume and my skills. I had developed amazing relationships with the professional staff and had a great reputation for my work ethic. I was confident but needless to say I was also healthily skeptical of my chances. 

We were to be notified of our job placement status the second Friday after the last TRAITS session. That was the longest week of my life. I needed to know. I also had friends in the process who were nervous, and we comforted each other through the week. That Friday at noon, I was astonished that the letters still hadn’t come. I asked my supervisor, and she said they’d be out at around 3:30 p.m. I’ll have you know I counted every second between noon and 3:30 that day. I got my email in the middle of my leadership class. I started sweating. I almost couldn’t open it. I felt bad, because I was in class, and I probably shouldn’t have been looking at my phone, but I think the stakes of this situation offer a good explanation as to why I was.

I looked at the email, and the waterworks started. Picture me, silently crying in the front of my leadership class looking at an email, trying to not draw attention to myself. I was crying because I was so proud of myself for receiving my placement as a resident assistant in James River Hall for the 2019-20 academic year! This has been a journey spanning two years and has prompted a heck of a lot of personal growth and learning about myself, but I did it. And I’m gosh darn proud of me. My friends, my family, and my Captains have helped me get here, and for that, I’ll be forever thankful. I look forward to the adventure that awaits me next year!