Residence fellows are always ready to deal with your problems ( Photo: Talbert Johnson )
Residence life can be pretty hectic during the first weeks of school for anybody, but especially those who have to deal with the pranks, parties and personal problems: the residence fellows.
However, it’s important to remember that “frosh week is not every week,” says Lamia Naji, a fourth-year public affairs and policy management student and first-time res fellow. Naji says she now feels comfortable handling anything her new position may throw at her this year, thanks to all the support she’s received from the Residence Life team.
Naji is from Ottawa but she says she felt becoming a residence fellow would be a great way to get involved at Carleton after having been class president in high school.
“I was really seeing the life that my classmates were living because they had this camaraderie [through] a rez life,” she says. “Here, another way it just hit me – my last year, I want to be involved . . . more than just clubs and more than just class. I want to make my experience pretty unique.”
So far, the experience has been a great one, Naji says, since she’s been able to get to know the students on her floor. When the door is open her students will come in to say hi and tell her about their day.
“I don’t have any younger siblings so I feel like all the students on my floor are like my little brothers and sisters, as corny as that may sound,” Naji says.
While residence fellows are able to have fun with their students, there are a lot of responsibilities that go with the job, says Paul Glover, a program officer with the International Program for Development Evaluation Training, which is partly managed by Carleton University.
Glover was a residence fellow for the academic years of 2005-06 and 2006-07 and says in addition to active programming, such as trips to museums and floor dinners, passive programming such as floor movie nights is time consuming and requires a lot of work.
While various aspects of the job can be stressful, he says it’s important for residence fellows to set the tone at the beginning of the year for how you will react to all types of situations.
“I think first impressions are the most important thing with being a rez fellow because students are generally going to see you as an authority figure and you need to let them know where your priorities lay,” Glover says.
Residence fellows also have to keep themselves in mind.
“There are so many things that could happen on the floor and you could get so stressed out and you need to take time to relax. . . . At the end of the day, as long as you know you’re doing your job, just relax,” says Asietu Numekevor, a public affairs and policy management student and two-time res fellow.
Both Numekevor, who is now a residence programming assistant this year, and Naji say the team-building aspect of residence is great, because that support is what makes the experience of being a residence fellow a memorable one, no matter the challenges one may fac