RMs plan events for incoming residents
As move in day approaches, resident mentors are training for the upcoming year and preparing for students’ return to campus.
Caroline Faucette, an RM in Patterson Hall and a third-year elementary education student, is looking forward to her duties for her second year on the job. She was inspired to take on the job by her first-year RM,
“My RM my freshman year was amazing and really made sure that I was getting settled into college and was becoming independent,” Faucette said. “Because of this experience, I wanted to make sure other girls had one similar. I also heard from other girls in my class that the girls on their hall didn’t talk to each other or interact with one another, and I wanted to change that.”
Third-year chemical engineering student Jackie Tolomeo, an RM in East Quad this summer, also worked as an RM in the Honors Residence Hall last year and went through the extensive start-of-year preparation.
“RMs have about two weeks of training when we get here in the beginning of August and it covers a variety of topics,” she said. “We’ll have sessions from different resources of campus, like the Student Success Center, USC Connect, et cetera, so that we’ll be able to pass that information along to our residents or use it in a program. We also hear from the Office of Student Conduct to learn about the discipline process here at USC.”
New RMs are hired each year, and veterans often assist in training them.
“Returning RMs will act out scenarios,” Tolomeo said. “And the new RMs are asked to respond how they think they should if it were an actual incident, and then the returners will talk about what could’ve been done differently afterwards.”
Although students of all ages decide to live in residence halls, a majority of residents are freshmen. With each new incoming class of students, RMs make it their priority to ensure that the new students have a smooth transition into college.
“I want to enhance the freshman experience by getting residents out of their comfort zones,” Faucette said. “It’s always great to see residents on the hall becoming friends with someone totally different than them and it makes them a better person. On the other hand, I hope to also connect students with clubs and organizations that best fit their interests and beliefs. Whether you play music, video games, or sports; it’s always good to be in a community with those similar to you. There is so much happening on campus, and the more students stay, the easier it gets to be away from home and on your own.”
Like Faucette, Tolomeo too has plans for the coming year to help the freshmen become acclimated.
“As an RM, my goal was to try and make sure that all my freshmen residents knew about what USC had to offer for them,” said Tolomeo. “It’s hard when you’re a freshman to figure out exactly what you want to do and what till make your time here better.”
In addition to enhancing the freshman experience, Tolomeo said RMs should get to know about their residents’ backgrounds.
“I had mostly business majors on my hall last year,” Tolomeo said. “So when I heard about a club that was tailored to students in the business school, I gave my hall that information.”
Faucette, like many other RMs, has already planned activities for her residents, most of whom won’t know each other until they’re living side-by-side.
“I always love having movie nights on the floor where girls can just get to know each other in a casual way,” Faucette said. “I’m also working with my co-RM on an event to help freshman girls to go out safely and be aware of their surroundings.”