EPTI DESTROYED my group interview. Admittedly my group was rather lackluster, but come on, being the best of 6 there must have been worth something. My two-on-one interview went pretty well I thought-- I made my interviewers laugh, gave some pretty well-thought answers though I rambled somewhat. I was the last one out of the interview process, but it wasn't awkward or anything. One even emailed me about some ideas I had. At worst, that was a moderate one thumbs up kind of interview.
I'm legitimately pissed that I didn't get RA. I'll admit that I'm not as good an SA as some of my fellow staff members (just because they're so awesome), but I did a damn good job both on paper and in real life. We took residents camping early on, which was one of the biggest programs (that's what we call these sort of activities) anyone had ever organized. Apart from that, we did all sorts of things to help and get to know our residents.
I don't breathe down residents' necks, but I'm always there for them. As your SA, I'll do a lot for you. As a friend, I'll walk to the end of the Earth to take a bullet for you and I genuinely think of many of my residents as friends that I will talk to even after Emory. I joined clubs with some of them, and go to club events for others. They come to me with all sorts of problems, and I do my best to help them untangle them. Some even tell me who they hooked up with over the weekend, and I listen patiently.
I, my SA pair and my RA made our hall what it is: well run, friendly and most importantly, home-- home to anyone who wants it, even kids who come from other halls. I love this place and the people, and it breaks my heart that I will be forced to leave, even if it is to live with friends. Again, would I be the best RA ever? No. But I simply cannot believe that every single person ahead of me on the list is better. Baseline, I had a 33% chance, and I thought with what I'd done and my interviews (I'm typically not a good speaker, but I pulled a lot out of my ass for this job I wanted) I had a really good shot.
And to the residents who I don't know so well for one reason another, I'm sorry I've kind of failed you. But I'm here and hopefully I can do that little part of my job better.
5/5
