There are multiple Residential Advisers here at SUNY Oneonta. In Matteson Hall one specific advisor comes to mind. Shelby Cleveland is a 20 year old education major here at Oneonta. This RA has made an impact on almost every one of her residents lives. Shelby came to Matteson as an RA in only her second semester as a student and has been one ever since for the past five semesters. "I wanted to get involved on campus and challenge my leadership abilities. I wanted to help people and make an impact on my residents lives" said Shelby. She has loved every moment of her almost three years here. "My favorite part about being an RAis getting close to residents, becoming friends and getting involved in their lives naturally. I also like being there for them and I love when residents need me for things, it makes me feel important."
Residential Advisers have a huge impact on their residents. Shelby deals with all types of problems throughout the hall, however not everything that happens is necessarily a problem. "I speak to residents about academic, social, and personal issues. I hold programs in which residents can learn new information from. We ultimately want to build a community throughout the halls."
RA Shelby's time here at Oneonta is almost up. As mentioned earlier she is in the education program and is about to begin her time as a student teacher, caring for another set of people, no longer her residents, all though I'm sure she still will care for her students. She has multiple ideas for what to do after her graduation, which is coming up fast as she will graduate after the fall semester of 2016. "I want to go to grad school in probably reading or immediately apply for a teaching job, we'll see what happens." With all the experience she has in all different types of fields and being an RA, it should definitely help her out in the long run.
Problems definitely occur while she was on the job. She has had to diffuse some situations in her time being an RA such as dealing with typical alcohol incidents as well as incidents involving drugs. Every situation is different, however she has found ways to help out all of her residents and if she could not help then she would get somebody to help her out. Whether that person is in the health center or academic advisement. "You learn to be empathetic with residents."
Unfortunately, this will be RA Shelby's last semester here with us in Matteson. In any hall actually because she is looking to pursue her career in teaching and get a student teaching job which will take up most of her free time. She is going to miss being an RA but is excited to take the next step in her life and pursue her goal. "I'm going to miss seeing my favorite people every day, from my residents to my staff, Matteson is my home." Everyone here in Matteson knows she will be great at whatever she decides to do next.
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