It’s the time of year when students can apply to be orientation leaders and resident and community assistants.

[media-credit name=”Christina Popik” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

To apply for these positions, students must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 and no current disciplinary probation, according to Assistant Director of Residential Life Mike Guthrie.

Guthrie has been overseeing the application process for two to three years and said that last year was the biggest year ever with over 230 applicants for the positions.

Approximately 240 students applied for an RA/CA position last year, according to Guthrie. Only 225 students qualified to move onto the group process and 100 of those students were cut, leaving 125 to move on to the individual interviews. Of the 125 students that remained, 44 students were hired.

Senior Soraya Melle became interested in the Resident Assistant position her during junior year. Melle chose to apply for the position because it is a leadership role which requires one to look out for the well-being of others.

“I get along with people and I like interacting with people and I’m really good at problem solving issues between students,” Melle said

Melle commented that the willingness to learn and grow are essential qualifications in order to be considered for this position.

Guthrie explained that all are welcome to apply for the position, even those who may not see him or herself as a resident or community assistant.

Positive role modeling is something expected from all resident and community assistants, Guthrie stated. According to Guthrie, the office of Residential Life looks for someone who they feel is going to support the residents and be a positive role model.

“We look for someone who is going to be able to fit into a team and has that team mentality,” he said. “We look for someone who is going to be supportive. I would say outgoing but it’s okay if you’re an introvert. If you’re an introvert you still have plenty to offer your residents.”

Sophomore Mazel Genfi considers herself both an extrovert and an introvert.

“There [are] moments when I can be reclusive and stick to myself,” Genfi said. “There are also moments when I’m outgoing and like to interact with people.”

There have been RA/CAs who have been documented in the past with conduct sanctions but still got hired, according to Guthrie.

“As long as they have completed their sanctions and finished their probation at the time of their application [they can apply, but] they can’t be on a current sanction,” Guthrie said. “RAs and CAs who have been documented can also provide valuable knowledge to their residents who may be going through the conduct process.”

Assistant Dean and Director of Campus Life Daniel Brown has been working for Campus Life at Quinnipiac for the past 14 years and oversees the OL application process and the orientation program.

The application process to become an OL is similar to that of the RA/CA application, however more students tend to apply for the OL position than the RA/CA position, according to Brown.

In comparison to the 44 RAs that get hired, Brown stated that the Orientation Leader staff is always set at 72 members.

“We always hire a staff of 72,” Brown said. “The highest it’s been since we’ve been paying them has been at 80, the number of actual new hires is between 20 and 30, which is about half the staff.”

Genfi realized the competitive nature of the application process but remains enthusiastic about the position.

“Since being an OL is such a competitive position, I wouldn’t really know what they want. However, I believe that I am quite involved on campus and that is a trait needed to be an OL,” Genfi said.

Sophomore Danielle Radeke prefers the orientation leader position to the resident assistant because it is something she has been interested in doing before she came to Quinnipiac.

“Orientation Leader for me is something I’ve always been interested in doing,” Radeke said. “RA is really cool too but OL is where I’m called to be.”

Brown commented that approximately 300 students attend the information sessions and about 150-200 actually apply and go through the process.

Brown said the goal of the application process to get a diverse and well qualified staff.

“We are looking for who is going to represent the student body as a whole. We are looking at different majors, different involvement opportunities to have as diverse of a staff as we can get,” Brown said.

To Radeke, being an OL means being someone who can work well in a group and as a leader.

“It’s somebody who is involved on campus,” Radeke said. “Somebody who loves Quinnipiac and somebody who is going to represent them well.”