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It is Friday night and Residence Advisors Ash-Lee Gibson and her partner patrol all five floors of the Algonquin College residence building. They are watching for any sort of disturbance from clumsy drunks or music that is playing too loud, and even assisting students who have accidentally locked themselves out of their rooms. For Residence Advisors, this is not just a job but something they enjoy and work hard at to be successful.

A residence advisors job is never done

Part of what they enjoy so much is being a leadership figure to new students and returning students who need support with everyday problems. This is not their only job—they plan and organize events, give advice, and enforce rules for their section—but it’s an important one regardless. The Residence Advisors are specially trained students who are there as leaders and a shoulder to cry on if necessary.

For Ash-Lee Gibson, 19, the leadership role means putting forward an effort to connect with the students in her section and making herself known as a role model for everyone. Her leadership is working: Gibson’s roommate, Shannen Trudeau, Residence Advisor for the 2011-2012 school year, already wants to take over the work that Ash-Lee has started on the alcohol-free floor.

Ash-Lee and Shannen share a special bond, not only because they are roommates for this year but also because they share passions for the same types of activities and want to plan these activities so that they benefit and influence students in a positive and enjoyable way.

Even before her official year as a Residence Advisor, Trudeau has made herself known with her organizational skills by putting forth an effort in November to try and win a concert by the popular band Marianas Trench. She did this by taking the initiative to go out and collect votes as well as plan what was to be done. These responsibilities included: contacting members at the student association, having posters made for advertising, and arranging to have a table set up so that the search for votes was not only residence-wide but school-wide. By doing this she proved not only to herself, but to those closest to her, that she could take on the role of a leader—a good quality to have within the school and while working.  

Aside from all of her regular activities, Shannen is also in school to be an early-childhood educator. She has spent a great deal of time volunteering in daycare centres both on her own time and for placement in her program. To go along with all of this craziness, she has also done work for the Salvation Army and various other volunteer organizations.

While Shannen spends her time planning to do all kinds of things to get “res” points, a competition between color sections, she reminds herself periodically that leadership is not the only skill a Residence Advisor needs. RA’s should be “active listeners, believe in confidentiality, are outgoing, trustworthy, work well in a team, and are social,” she says.  Many of these essential skills will help her to be a good advisor next year.

None of this includes the training she will get, not only this school year, but also this summer before next year’s residents arrive.

Of course, this isn’t the only benefit that she has; living with one of this year’s Resident Advisors has given Shannen a look into what to expect for next year. The roommate of an RA also has to be mature and responsible because the roommate can be viewed as the right-hand man or woman to the advisor.

Ash-Lee Gibson balances a lot, between being a full-time student in General Arts and Science Community Studies and a full-time Resident Advisor, but she still manages to make time for fun and do things to show her appreciation for her section by planning section parties and workshops that are residence-wide.

Just a few days ago, she planned a Hawaiian-themed spring-break party for her section. She brought chips, pop and other snack foods for students to nibble on. The gathering was accompanied by games and photo-taking because “I want to remember everyone,” Gibson says as she poses with each of her students individually.

Lending a hand

Some of Gibson’s more important work is with an organization called “Hand in Hand” which brings together youth in order to make a positive change in communities, but it was just a few years ago, in 2009, that the organization finally went global.

Her interest started when an old friend from high school started “Hand in Hand” as a way of helping teens who were in need of connecting with other young people who wanted to make a difference in the world. As a student leader herself, Gibson has worked hard to involve her section in this organization. During meetings, she has expressed her own interest and encouraged others to do the same.

Ash-Lee Gibson has caught the interest of her roommate, Shannen Trudeau, and their mutual friend Caraida Pearce, with the organization. Both girls have volunteered their time to get a table from the students’ association in Algonquin College to raise awareness about “Hand in Hand.” Her plans include raising money for the organization by selling bottles of expensive perfume from Germany. The table that Shannen and Caraida want to set up will be used in part for selling the perfume, priced at fifty dollars each, and because of this it has been discussed that the average college student will be a hard sell.

All the money raised for “Hand in Hand” is put towards helping local and global communities. Annually, the organization hosts a Global Initiative that has a different focus every year; the 2010 initiative was aimed at education and nutrition. The goal for this year is to raise 50,000 dollars to adopt two villages in India and Sierra. They want to provide each village with “a school and educational programing, access to clean drinking water, better healthcare, and alternative income sources.”

Although Ash-Lee is not one of the leaders of this organization, she has proven that she can be a leader in her own community.

It is not just Ash-Lee who is a great leader in the Algonquin College residence, many of the other Residence Advisors also plan activities and take on the leadership role. They organize things like winter games, the Gonq Pub on St Patrick’s Day where there is dancing, and also the body-image workshop where there is lots of encouragement and support. Along with being super friendly, the current Residence Advisors make this a great place to live throughout the school year.

So as Ash-Lee Gibson and her partner patrol the hallways, ready to be the iron fist of the law, they are also friendly students. So, while the job has its hard parts, like dealing with students that are not always the nicest, the advisors have a great support system behind them. As Ash-lee walks down the hall back to the lobby, she can know that what she does makes a difference in the lives of students all over residence.