By Elizabeth Faragi

Small but vital groups are what make the University of Maryland so special. From diverse clubs to student government groups, these communities work together to grow UMD’s campus and make it a comfortable home for all students. One group in particular works extra hard: resident assistants.

Resident assistants, or RAs, are an essential part of the UMD community, working to ensure residence halls run smoothly. They also assist freshmen in the stressful transition to college.

There are 294 resident assistants across 39 residence halls on campus, according to the Department of Resident Life website. Each hall typically has about eight to 16 RAs.

Resident assistants undergo a lot of preparation before the school year begins. Pierre Campbell, the assistant director for communities, explained how RAs receive comprehensive training prior to beginning their work. 

“RAs get comprehensive training, once in August and once in January,” Campbell said. “August is about 10 days before students move in, and January is about four days before students return.” 

Campbell explained that these days of training last all day and cover topics such as crisis response, duty training, conflict mediation and campus resources. 

Owen Korzak, a sophomore journalism major, is an RA on the sixth floor of Cumberland Hall. He explained how the training experience went for him. 

“We had about a week and a half of different stations from 9 to 5 p.m.,” Korzak said. “We also had a lot of different stations about how we can care for ourselves as an RA because it can be a mentally taxing job.”

During their early move-in, RAs will also prepare their halls for residents. This includes putting up posters, making their bulletin board and decorating all the doors for the residents. 

Because of the early move-in for RAs, they tend to get pretty close as a group. Parsa Faroghi, a senior management and marketing major, is one of the RAs on the second floor of Cumberland Hall. This is his second year in the position and he’s gotten close with other RAs. 

“I’ve gotten to meet and work with a pretty cool team,” Faroghi said. “It makes me feel more part of the community on campus and in the building.”

As part of the job, RAs work duty shifts. During these shifts, they must stay in their dorm building and conduct rounds at different times throughout the night to ensure that everyone is safe and following the rules. 

According to Korzak, on weekend shifts, there is a primary and a secondary RA on duty for extra safety. Weekday shifts only have one RA on duty. 

RAs also frequently host events for residents on their floor to help students get to know one another. Korzak explained how each floor will have at least one event every month. Last week, Korzak hosted a pickleball tournament for his floor with his sixth-floor co-resident assistant, and his next event will be a fire safety event involving s’mores. 

Katherine Murphy, a freshman business major, is a resident on Korzak’s floor and attended his pickleball tournament.

“I think [the events] are great,” Murphy said. “It’s a great way for our floor to create community and enjoy time together. I feel like it’s brought a lot of residents together and is a great way to make friends.”  

Another part of this community is the resident directors, who oversee the RAs in each residence hall. The resident directors all have master’s degrees and live in the residence halls. 

“Each resident director can supervise between eight and 16 RAs,” Campbell said. “They are really the coordinators of the Maryland residential experience.” 

Resident directors are there to assist RAs and respond after hours when things happen, Campbell explained. Each night, there are always two resident directors on duty, one on North Campus and one on South Campus. 

Resident directors also work to manage student conduct within their specific buildings. This ensures that UMD remains a safe and welcoming environment for all residents. 

Campbell said RAs are overseen by the resident directors, who are overseen by a community director. Campbell oversees the community directors in his area, which are the Denton, Ellicott and Cambridge communities.  

“The common goal is to create community and to make sure that students are having a phenomenal connection to the university,” Campbell said. “[Students] are taken care of, they’re supported and they’re prepared to be academically successful here at the University of Maryland.”

Featured Image: Somerset Hall on a fall night in November 2024. Photo by Anika Stikeleather.