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Director dedicates time, service |
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Tuesday, 27 February 2007 |
Day in the Life of a Resident Director
by LINDSAY TIGAR
Lifestyles Reporter
Appalachian State University’s Web site for Residence and Housing Life describes a resident director as a graduate student who supervises, counsels and supports everyone who’s part of the residence hall.
It also claims that an RD builds a sense of community through “emphasizing consideration for others.”
Michelle L. Harvey, a second-year graduate student in college student development with a concentration in student affairs, is the RD for Lovill Residence Hall.
 Active Image | Alisha Park | The Appalachian
Michelle L. Harvey is the Resident Director of Lovill Residence Hall where she is responsible for managing all RAs and student conduct.
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“I
applied to be the residence director for Lovill for two reasons,” she
said. “To work with the Leadership and Service Floor because it’s a
unique program that students have the opportunity to be a part of. And
I’ve been a residence director before, and I wanted to be able to say
I’ve opened a building.”
Lovill was newly renovated and available for students to live in fall of this school year.
In fact, Harvey has been involved in residence life the entire duration of her college years.
She earned a bachelor of arts in English, writing and math from
Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and went on to work as a RD
for Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Being the RD for a residence hall at Appalachian State requires many responsibilities.
RDs must attend the RD staff meeting, have RA staff meetings, hold seven office hours, two of which
are focused on student conduct, and balance what Harvey calls “two avenues” of her job.
“One avenue of my job is supervising RAs and supporting them for all
they do,” she said. “Another avenue is to connect with residents and be
available if they have questions or concerns and proving a friendly
face for them.”
Harvey finds many opportunities for students through active involvement in residence life.
“Living in a residence hall teaches many life lessons,” she said. “How
to get along with others, how to compromise, how to be assertive and
how to appreciate differences.”
Apart from Harvey’s title in Lovill, she is also actively involved on campus.
As a graduate student, she holds an internship with the Lee H. McCaskey
Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, she is working to put
together the Women’s Leadership Conference taking place March 3, and
she is helping to plan Greek Week.
Also she is the co-advisor for Emerging Leaders, the Leadership Team
and Club Council. In addition, she is the secretary for the College
Student Development Association and is attending an Alternative
Spring Break trip to Nashville, Tenn.
Last semester, Harvey was a freshman seminar teacher.
While at Buena Vista, Harvey focused more on juniors and seniors by
directing a residence hall that was for upperclassman. At Appalachian
State, she is aiming to widen her scope and focus on freshmen and
sophomores, she said.
Having a full load of directing leadership programs and residence life,
Harvey tries to find time to balance everything she’s involved in.
“The most difficult part of my job is learning to balance,” she said.
“There is a lot going on with my job as a residence director. I’m also
a grad student that has classes and an internship. I also try to spend
time with friends and talk to my mom who is far away. I often feel
pulled in all different directions.”
In 10 years, Harvey sees herself “somewhere between a director of student programs and/or dean of students.”
Leadership will continue to be important to Harvey in her career.
“Students who come to campus excited to learn – not only about studies
but about themselves – can do that through leadership,” she said.
“Leadership opportunities built who I am, what was important to me, and
what I wanted to do with my life.”
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