Hello, my name is Leah Bruce! I am a Peace and Conflict Studies major and Psychology minor graduating in Spring 2024. I also work on campus as a Resident Assistant (RA) in Lake Hall. I originally chose to come to Kent State because of the impressive Exploratory pre-major program. Personally, it gave me so many opportunities to explore my interests and empowered me to feel concrete in my decision to declare into Peace and Conflict Studies.
What made me want to become an RA initially was the unique job experience. I thought that it would be an amazing opportunity to meet new people and grow as a leader. An additional benefit is that it’s a job that incorporates a lot of principles taught to me in my major classes.
My typical day as an RA starts with me getting ready for my classes with an iced coffee. I update the “Where’s my RA?” sign and skadoodle to my first class of the day. After my morning class, I typically get lunch at the Metropolitan Deli and take the time to respond to any emails or questions from my residents.
From there, I usually finish out my classes for the day and do all the normal college student essentials: studying, catching up with friends, and, my favorite hobby – reading. Everyday always looks a little different depending on what duties and responsibilities I am in the process of completing. Some weeks, I am putting together a new bulletin board, making door decs, meeting with residents for one-on-ones or event planning.
My absolute favorite moment as an RA is putting on events for my residents!
I gain so much joy from seeing people interact within our community and being able to establish individual relationships with each resident. For one of my favorite events, I collaborated with the Exploratory learning community to put on a Halloween-inspired event where there was pizza, candy, costumes, a spooky movie, coloring and pumpkin painting. It was a great turnout and there were some pretty great costumes, too!
Being an RA has challenged me to look at everything from multiple perspectives.
This skill is so necessary especially when it comes to interacting with so many different people with various backgrounds and histories. It teaches you to be compassionate and empathetic to all people.
Genuinely, my experiences as an RA have impacted my KSU experience for the better because I feel like I make a difference. It can be something small like greeting someone in the hallway or checking in on people after midterms or even just talking to them about their day.
Establishing relationships is one of the most rewarding benefits of becoming an RA.
My advice to a high school senior considering coming to Kent State is to look at everything we have to offer! Beyond academics, there are also our residence hall communities, 350+ student organizations and lots of leadership roles. Kent State is one of the most welcoming communities I have ever been a member of. Everyone has a place at Kent State!