SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020 - 10

FEATURE ARTICLES
would almost always schedule their
meetings for the afternoons, during
time I was supposed to be working
out of the Lockmiller office. There
were several instances when I
would have to walk from one office
to the other and then back again
for meetings held back to back in
different locations. It is important
to note that the two offices were
roughly half a mile away from each
other. I was fortunate to have a
reliable Building Assistant in my
original office who communicated
with residents with whom I was
meeting and letting them know
if I was running late or needed to
reschedule. When first deciding to
split my time, the uncertainty of
conduct hearings, and meetings
with students in general, was not a
challenge that I had thought would
impact my schedule.

MAKING IT WORK:
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
PERSPECTIVE

With this being a unique
situation, and one occurring during
the first year as an Assistant
Director supervising a Master's
level professional, it was important
to me as the AD to support my
Resident Director to the best of
my ability. This involved having
the conversation as soon as the
placement was decided to see
how I could best support my staff
member. I wanted to be thorough
in what that support looked like
for them and how I could show up
for them. I made it a priority to
advocate for them throughout this
time and ensure that they were to
receive the benefits associated with
taking on additional tasks beyond
their specific position. We were
very fortunate to have the summer
months to establish that working
relationship and discern how
we would work together to best
manage Lockmiller and Stagmaier.
In order to support my Resident
Director, I mainly assisted with
the supervision aspect of 6 of the 9
Resident Assistants for Lockmiller.
I met weekly with those who
were returning RAs and would

10

theoretically need less guidance
regarding certain issues/concerns
they would be addressing in their
role. By meeting with the RAs each
week, I was able to ensure they
were feeling that support as one of
our major goals as a team was to
ensure they never felt undervalued
and unsupported. Additionally,
this involved me being present for
events taking place at the complex
after hours and attending staff
meeting in place of my RD when
assistance was needed.
Another piece I took on as the
Assistant Director was the conduct
cases specifically for Lockmiller
Apartments. The Assistant
Resident Director assisted with
the Stagmaier cases while I took
on the majority of Lockmiller
cases to minimize the volume on
my Resident Director's plate. The
other building they were managing,
Boling Apartments, had over 100
conduct cases for the fall semester
alone. Assisting with conduct was
my way of ensuring that my RD
was not going to burn out during
the semester.
I think while I have previously
mentioned the importance of
supporting my staff throughout this
time, I believe it is important to
note that it was all about presence
for me. I knew something I have
valued or wished for in previous
experiences was when mid-level
staff would show up and be present
during difficult moments. While I
knew this situation was not ideal
for anyone involved, my RD, ARD,
and RAs were always a priority.
This was always at the forefront of
my decision making. The overall
balancing of taking on these
aspects of Lockmiller Apartments
while being a full-time Assistant
Director was certainly not easy
at times. I was fortunate to have
great support from my Director
and fellow Assistant Directors
for Residence Education. Where I
maybe had to step back from things
to assist properly with Lockmiller,
they were quick to step in when
needed.

THE HURDLES

This situation impacted the
Assistant Resident Director and
gave her an experience that was
different from the other ARDs
working for the department. One
of the most significant impacts
on the ARD came at the very
beginning of the semester during
RA Training. With the full-time
RD doing complex-specific inhall training with their originally
assigned staff, the ARD became
responsible for facilitating
complex-specific in-hall training
for the Lockmiller and Stagmaier
staff of RAs. The full-time RD led
and facilitated as many joint inhall trainings as possible; however,
it became understood that it was
unreasonable and not beneficial
to have the two RA staffs together
during most of the in-halls since
a lot of the topics covered were
specific to each complex. The RD
and ARD made sure to have open
communication and meet to discuss
the expectations of in-hall training
and what was to be accomplished.
During our opening weekends,
the Assistant Director oversaw
the Lockmiller move-in process
and the ARD oversaw Stagmaier
while the RD was in their originally
assigned building. In-hall training
sessions and opening of the
complexes would not have been as
successful without the dedication
and attention to detail of the ARD
and the support of the Assistant
Director.
During this unique situation, one
of the defining factors that allowed
for it to go as smoothly as it did
was the relationship between the
Assistant Director and Resident
Director. From the beginning
it was understood by both that
communication would be key in
the success of ensuring the staff
would not feel unsupported by
Housing and Residence Life. We
communicated weekly during 1:1s
regarding any updates on the RA
staff for the Lockmiller Apartments
and ensured follow-up on weekly
reports they were submitting.
Additionally, the AD and RD were
SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020
