Doyle Hall
David Scibilia/The Bona Venture
BY: MORGAN KILGER, NEWS EDITOR
Between the fall 2023 and spring 2024 semesters, Residence Life had multiple changes to its staffing. Several new resident assistants and one new resident director were hired.
Resident assistant turnover is expected between every semester. Kurt Stitzel, residence director for Robinson, Falconio and Doyle halls, has seen a turnover every semester he’s been part of Residence Life.
Stitzel does not find the turnover process to be inconvenient.
“Turnover is never inconvenient. Every semester I have been in Residence Life, dating back to when I was an RA there has been some turnover,” said Stitzel. “Nothing about the process, as a result, makes turnover ‘inconvenient.’”
The new resident assistants were hired due to students graduating, quitting or being fired. Almost every residence hall received a new resident assistant, said Rob Defazio, associate dean for student life.
“We had hired five new ones [resident assistants] going into the semester,” said Defazio. “We had a couple that decided after one week they didn’t want to be an RA anymore. We also had a couple graduate at the end of the [fall] semester.”
Since turnover is expected, Residence Life is prepared in case of unexpected vacancy.
“If someone steps down, we’ll try to replace [them],” said Defazio. “Sometimes that just happens.”
If a resident assistant leaves their position unexpectedly, Residence Life decides whether or not to post the position, said Stitzel.
In most cases, the vacancy is posted on Handshake, the resource students use to apply for on-campus jobs, and advertised around campus.
Residence Life fills vacant resident assistant positions based on the capacity of students. If a residence hall is split into several wings or has a large student capacity, they receive a new resident assistant, said Defazio.
Alongside the five new resident assistants being hired, Defazio hired one new resident director due to an unexpected vacancy before the fall semester.
“We had an RD leave right as the fall semester started, literally right before move in,” said Defazio. “We did an open search for an RD position and throughout the semester I did interviews. We ended up hiring in November and she started right around the holidays.”
The process for hiring a resident director is different from the process for a resident assistant since they’re not undergraduate students.
To apply to be a resident director, applicants submit a resumé online and the Department of Student Affairs does a review based on qualifications. Applicants then participate in an interview on Zoom before being invited to Bonaventure.
There’s rarely turnover with resident directors.
Defazio hired several new resident assistants for the 2023-2024 academic year before the turnover.
The process of becoming a resident assistant is similar to applying for other student jobs at Bonaventure. Applicants fill out an application on Handshake. Applicants also submit a resumé and partake in an interview process.
The interview process required applicants to create a five-minute presentation about something they’re interested in, along with five minutes of questions afterward.
Applicants who are accepted receive a form to accept or decline a resident assistant position soon after their interview.
Defazio encourages students to ask their resident assistant or keep a lookout on Noticeboard, Bonaventure’s daily online newsletter, for information about becoming a resident assistant.
“Any students that are interested in becoming an RA should look for information that’s going to be coming out,” said Defazio. “We encourage students that are interested in being an RA to apply.”
kilgermi22@bonaventure.edu
