UCCS Residence Life and Housing

I didn't work my first semester at college. This was probably a good thing since it was necessary to adjust to life in the dorms, in classes and in ultra conservative Colorado Springs. I studied a lot that semester and discovered my favorite study spot in the library which had an awesome view of the beautiful mountains (Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods) as well as the ugly urban sprawl of a city poorly planned out.

A friend of mine told me it was possible to get paid to study and recommended that I apply for the front desk job in the dorms. I asked her what it involved and she said I'd have to occasionally answer phones and sort the mail, but basically I'd get paid to study since it was a desk job. Sweet. I got the job and was excited to learn that it was so much more than a boring desk job. I was stationed in the heart of dorm drama and was exposed to all the gossip going on. It was amusing to learn about all the goings on but it was also nice to not be directly involved in it. I sometimes felt sorry for the RAs who had to deal with all these situations and admired how they handled their jobs.

Two semesters later, I got roped into being an RA. I don't really remember how it all played out, but I distinctly remember our Inter Varsity sponsor tell me that it would be an awesome way to love some neighbors by being a mentor and guide for residents in the dorms. When I applied, I thought I was applying for the 4th floor of Breckenridge which was a very mellow Freshman floor. I could handle that, no problem. Upon being told that I got the job, I was also told that there was a change in plans and I would instead be the RA for the 1st floor of Vail which was the most intimidating floor in the dorms. Most of the residents where Juniors and Seniors and pretty much all of them were tight knit friends who knew how to cover up their tracks when breaking the rules. I was less than thrilled about being put in charge of a floor with students who were older than me especially since it was the middle of the year and they had already established a routine of getting in trouble. A friend and I wrote a goofy song called "First Vail- I'm so Gonna Fail" as a form of comic relief.

I survived that semester and continued as an RA for the next three semesters until I graduated. Overall, I loved the experience minus a few really low points. One that stands out in my mind was the first night of move in when I had to send two Freshman residents to the ER for alcohol poisoning. Another time a resident called and said she wanted to commit suicide and I had to drive her to counseling office. A somewhat comical incident was when I was informed that one of my residents moved out of the dorms due to the fact that she just gave birth. Nobody (even her roommates) knew she was pregnant- we all thought she was just putting on the Freshman fifteen!

Some of the other RAs on staff were "narcs" and would literally try to listen through walls and sniff under doors if they suspected something going on in a dorm room. This was always good for a laugh from the rest of us who didn't take our jobs quite so seriously. My general policy was that as long as no one is getting hurt and they weren't doing damage to the property, they could do whatever they want in their rooms as long as I didn't hear about it. I didn't make this policy public though and I'm sure my pothead neighbor during my Junior year thought I was a complete idiot for not knowing what he was doing in his room.