Holli Rausch

Well, RA training is officially over. And students are officially moved in, or are moving in. I’m really excited about the whole RA staff. Training seemed to go really well and everyone meshed together pretty nicely.

Most of my residents are moved in now, and I’m looking forward to the year. (Although, I am extremely tired and am in the middle of fighting a sinus infection.) It’s always fun to meet new people and have new neighbors, etc.

I have some brand new classes and professors this year…so that brings a little anxiety into the mix. I don’t really have a job, I kind of do, but yeah, just kind of. Anyway, it’ll be nice to start off with little commitment to clubs, jobs, etc. I welcome it with open arms. I’m learning how to say “I really don’t have time to commit to that…” So, good for me. Check out the pictures from RA Training.

Monday morning I had the opportunity to sit in on President Dr. Knowlton’s presentation for DSU (along with a million faculty members and the other RA trainees). It was here that I learned…DSU is #1! That’s right, my friends. Southwest Minnesota State University has lost its almost 10 year reign and handed it off to us. I, for one, am excited. It’s kind of a big deal.

His plan…to keep us at #1. I know, it seems like “duh”. But I think it’ll happen. We’re leading the way in colleges our size. And, my peers and I get to be a part of that. Recruiting will obviously be a key role. Being #1 will definitely help. As the Student Ambassador President, myself and all the ambassadors will be playing a big part in that. Sometimes, we’re the only “college kid” connection that potential students have to DSU. It’s exhilirating!

I sound like a nerd. Umm…GO DSU! (Find pictures here.) Also, Dr. Steve Shirley has a beard!

Today has been a day of a few “lasts” for me.

TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY…

…I will have a class period with Dr. Weinstein.

…I will buy an orange Powerade from the TC this semester.

…my residents could turn in forwarding address cards.

…I will do dishes this semester.

…I will play intramural softball with “I’m a bowling trophy”.

…I will work at KJAM.

Happy almost Cinco de Mayo!

After interviewing boys and girls the past couple of nights, I am beat. But I found it interesting to be on the flip side of an interview process. It really is true that you are being observed from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave. I found myself subconsciously making mental notes (good and bad) based on many different things:

Chewing gum throughout the night.

Not dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Would not speak within a group, unless specifically spoken to.

Interrupting (rudely), with little respect for others’ thoughts and opinions.

Also polite/respectful enough to sit back and let others speak instead of themselves, even when they clearly had the answers early on.

Had the courage to tell someone she/he didn’t agree with the decision and explained how the issue could better be solved.

Nervous picking at clothes.

The list goes on. And of course, this wasn’t observed in every interviewee…I just found it extremely interesting. It got me thinking about what I do during an interview. Keep these things in mind the next time you’re in the hot seat!

It’s 4:00 AM. I wake up to the flashing lights and loud buzzing of the fire alarm. Being the duty RA, I grab my glasses, cell phone, and keys and run to the first floor. I know that there are no other RA’s in the building, so I begin looking for the alarm box key to silence the sound for at least a little while. As I search, I begin to look up my RD’s (Mandy’s) phone number in my cell because I thought she was out of town. I turn around and she’s standing there. I say, “Thank God you’re here!” She hands me the master key and I go knocking and unlocking doors on 1st floor. At this point, we can’t do anything but assume this is real. Girls (and their guy friends) are coming out of their rooms and down the stairs grumpily as I think, “Your lives may be in danger right now and all you can do is whine?!”

I get half-way through knocking and unlocking my floor (2nd floor) when Mandy comes up and says, “It’s on this floor!” We check all of the pull alarms, but none have been triggered. Mandy then says, “We need to check the discs in the ceiling of every room.” We don’t know what we’re looking for, because we’ve never had it happen from a room before. We start checking and finally find a room that has a disc missing. The resident and her boyfriend were still in the room, which is in violation of fire alarm policy, but they helped us a lot so I guess it was kind of a blessing. We found something that looked like it might be the disc. It was bent, but the guy bent it back and stuck it in the ceiling. He twisted it and it seemed to lock in place.

Mandy went downstairs and silenced the alarm, sending girls back to bed. It never went off again. One and a half hours later, I finally fall back to sleep. That’s what I call a great Saturday night!