Live and Learn

Liz Carrel, left, a Residential Experience Coordinator on the first floor of Nichols Hall, takes a few moments to play a video game with two of her floor’s residents. ASMSA added the REC position to the Residential Life staff this year as part of a threeyear investment in updating the department’s staffing model.

RECs focus on student development

When a student applies to attend ASMSA, much of the early discussion centers on whether a student will be able to adjust to the rigorous curriculum offered by the school.

Just as important, though, is how a student will adapt to living in a residential setting away from their families. Will they flourish and make new friends? Will they want to stay in their room, hidden from their classmates? How will they handle the natural stress associated with leaving home while growing to be more independent?

ASMSA has in recent years expanded programs and services that address these questions. One action the school took was to add a licensed counselor to its staff to ensure students had a professional to reach out to for help or social-emotional guidance as needed. The counselor leads groups that provide students an opportunity to share their feelings and concerns in a constructive setting in addition to individual meetings as necessary. This fall, a licensed social worker will be added to that office.

An assistant dean of residence life who lives on campus was added to the residential staff in 2019, providing a full-time position who serves as an experienced administrative presence during the evening hours when students are out of class and to help lead the residential staff, including Residential Mentors (RM). RMs live on the floors with students and lead various educational sessions, conduct room checks, and serve as first contact for students.

The 2020-21 academic year completed a threeyear process of investment in an updated staffing model and additional personnel that underscores the

Alexander Anderson, a Residential Experience Coordinator in Faris Hall, plays a card game with a group of students in the Dolphin Bay Café. Anderson, who previously served as a Residential Mentor, was one of six RECs who were hired for the 2020-21 academic year.

importance the Residential Life staff play in student support and success. This year, the staff was reorganized to add six Residential Experience Coordinators. RECs are live-in staff who have shown a passion for the field of Student Affairs through their degree-program choices or their transferrable experiences, said Dr. Rheo Morris, dean of students at ASMSA. Each of the RECs have master’s degrees.

“Prior to this position, the RM roles were often viewed as transitional roles held by a person who stayed one or two years,” she said. “It served as a waiting period as some examined what they wanted to do with their careers or a launching pad for them to pursue a career in Student Affairs.”

The new REC roles demonstrate ASMSA’s commitment to the staff’s professionalism, Morris said.

“Live-in staff have come a long way from being ‘dorm moms’ and ‘dorm dads’ and now serve in the capacity as paraprofessional counselors, advisers, programmers, and persons who understand the theory behind certain behaviors,” Morris said.

Liz Carrel, one of the RECs, has degrees in social work — a bachelor’s from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a master’s from Barry University in Miami, Fla. She was excited about the opportunity to serve as a mentor to ASMSA students, following the example of her previous mentors, including Dr. Sara Brown, the school’s director of institutional advancement. Brown once served as Carrel’s mentor and counselor when Carrel was a student at National Park College in Hot Springs.

“I want to mentor and make a difference in our students’ lives just like Dr. Brown made a difference in my life,” Carrel said. “It’s about building community and rapport within our residential life. It’s about supporting the students through the school year and giving them the tools they will need to succeed in the real world.”

How students gain those tools are vital as well.

“It’s important that students are participants more than spectators because these skill-building activities will assist them in how to work in groups, lead a team, and much more,” Carrel said. to be more competitive in recruiting talented professionals for the roles. The position and salary are equivalent to a residence hall director on a college campus, but RECs work with a much smaller group of students.

The changes included a more enriching model for a growing Student Development Program that focuses on social and emotional learning (SEL). The first three weeks focused on topics such as self-management, hygiene, relationships, communication skills, conflict resolution, and self-awareness, Morris said. It is the school’s goal to bridge the gaps toward them becoming engaged citizens, she added.

During this past school year, ASMSA had seven RECs on staff, including four who previously served as ASMSA Residential Mentors, three of whom earned an advanced degree during their tenure at ASMSA.

The original plan was to have six, equivalent to the six wings in the Student Center. A seventh REC was added to ensure this year’s cohort of remote students had full access to a shared community and set of programmatic experiences.

Savannah Ramion is one of the

‘The social and emotional learning programming is going to have a positive impact on student development while at ASMSA. A residential experience is something that not many high school students can participate in, and we want to give our students a great time here. I love seeing how much the students grow while at ASMSA, both in academics and a residential setting.’

Savannah Ramion, Residential Experience Coordinator, Second Floor Nichols Hall

former RMs who became an REC. After earning her master’s degree in College Student Personnel Services from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, moving to the REC position seemed like a natural step in her career progression as a student affairs professional, Ramion said. While the two positions are similar, serving as the professionals in the Social Emotional Learning program is the focus for an REC.

“The SEL programming is going to have a positive impact on student development while at ASMSA,” Ramion said. “A residential experience is something that not many high school students can participate in, and we want to give our students a great time here. I love seeing how much the students grow while at ASMSA, both in academics and a residential setting.

“Sometimes you can see their personal growth over the course of a month or so, but looking back at a student’s first day at ASMSA up to their last day, there is always a big change in them. Whether those changes are through their maturation or watching them use the tools that we’ve taught them for time management, healthy eating, and mental health, it is satisfying.”

Adrian Tharpe joined the ASMSA staff this year as an REC after serving in student life positions at Murray State University in Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication from Murray State University and an Educational Specialist degree in Administration and Education from Middle Tennessee State. He works to be available as a listener as much as a teacher.

“I enjoy their ambition. They are so motivated about their education and their gifts. I love hearing about their day, about class, their friends, and family. I love that they feel comfortable coming to me about stuff,” he said.

“Most times anyone that you care for needs to be heard and they need to know that you will be there from the smallest question to the largest issue.”

Maddisyn Karn is another previous RM who has advanced to become an REC. She was chosen to work with the remote-learning students. While they may not have been on campus, it was vital that they recognized they are and remain full members of ASMSA’s community of learning.

Karn said the Social Emotional Learning aspect of the position aligns with the values she was taught were earning her social work

degrees — a bachelor’s from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and a master’s from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She still conducted “floor meetings” with the students and contacts them each individually every week for check-ins, she said.

“The biggest adjustment was finding ways to build rapport with the new students who are remote. The hybrid part of the position has also allowed me to use my degree more as I am helping [Staci Stich, the school’s licensed professional counselor] with mental health as well as planning SEL programs.”

Karn — who will transition to a licensed social work position on staff this fall — said the REC position takes a more hands-on approach with the students. “It allows for more quality and thoughtful interaction with the students. I approached the job with optimism, an open mind, and organization,” she said.

There are also four Residential Mentors on staff who will continue to work within Residence Life.

“Residential Mentors are still highly involved in the day-to-day running of the Student Center,” Morris said. “They create and implement programs, serve as mentors and teachers for students, and support the Social Emotional Learning program. They will communicate with parents more regularly to ensure we are all working in the best interest of the student.”

As with most areas of our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic required the Residential Life staff to adjust their plans. Students who chose to return to campus for on-site learning were required to stay on campus, including weekends. Their time off campus in town was restricted as well.

Morris said the timing of implementing the program worked out well despite it not being the timing she and her staff had anticipated.

“The RECs served as the bridge between students and the experience on campus,” she said. “This year there were many more restrictions including the students being unable to go home every weekend. As a result, parents saw less of their students, but the RECs called them biweekly to keep them informed of any concerns or celebrations. The RECs became a more pronounced extended arm of the parents.

“Parents have been appreciative of the position because of the increased communication between the department and the parents. Parents with kids who do not call home often are even more appreciative. The students were happy to have the additional staff available because it increased programming opportunities and increased intentional interactions.”

Ramion said that the additional communication with parents took some adjustment. As the year went by she added different ways to interact with parents from individual emails, phone calls, and texts about their students to weekly updates on what they were doing on the floor. She thinks that experience will carry over into the future.

“Going into the new school year, I am hoping to build a better relationship with students’ parents and learn better ways to communicate with them,” she said. “Looking back, I know what I can fix to do better in the new school year. I want parents to be able to reach out to me whenever their student needs something and know they can rely on me to do the best for their student.”

Finding ways to keep students busy and entertained during the unusual period of restrictions and social distancing that was required to have a safe campus took extra planning as well. Carrel tried to provide safe alternatives to some regular activities that were canceled.

When the annual Wacky Tacky Dance had to be canceled in the fall for COVID-19 restrictions, she decided to do a similar activity for her floor.

“Our floor dressed up Wacky and Tacky. We provided a photo booth, pizza, and played ‘Just Dance,’ socially distanced of course. Many school events were canceled last year, but I continued to provide that normality by having those similar school-related events on our floor but as a safe alternative,” Carrel said.

Camille Jordan, another REC, held “Super Smash Bros.” videogame tournaments, Fun Friday events, and craft programs to keep students entertained.

“Anything that involved competition, pizza, and simply being with their friends was a hit!” she said.

While they were trying to help the students cope with an unusual year, the RECs also learned that self-care was just as important. Ramion said one of her biggest challenges was focusing on her own mental health because of the pandemic’s unusual stressors. In past years on her days off she might still do an activity or two with students. But this year she made sure to use her days off to decompress and focus on her hobbies.

“By focusing on my mental health, I’ve become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses as well as helping students through this strange year by being transparent with them about my mental health struggles and what I’ve done to overcome them,” she said.

Tharpe took a similar approach, making sure on his days off he would find something to do to help relieve his own stress. “I realized that if I cannot care for myself, it is so hard to care for the students,” he said.

Morris said what pleased her most about this first year of the REC program were the staff members and their approach to the school year.

“I am pleased that we were fully staffed with people who were passionate about the development of the students during a very difficult time. The level and volume of programming was extraordinary. The staff did a great job of optimism and creating joyous moments during a stressful pandemic year,” Morris said.