5 Questions for an NYU Resident Assistant

Is your resident assistant (RA) there just to get you in trouble for blasting music? Nope. They’re a great resource. We asked Sam Guyton, an RA at Brittany Hall, home to 579 NYU first-year students, about adjusting to life in New York City, what kind of programming incoming students can expect in their residence hall, and what he loves most about his job. Sam is a junior studying music business at NYU Steinhardt.

My resident assistant during my first year at NYU showed me how impactful an RA can be. I felt like I would be able to carry on her tradition. If I’ve learned from certain mistakes and can help make someone’s year smoother, I feel it is my responsibility to help out a fellow Violet. Being an RA has proven more beneficial than I could have imagined when I entered the job. Now I have a family of 14 other RAs and a residence hall staff who have made this year my favorite academic year to date.

Brittany Hall has three Explorations floors, where students can apply to live based on certain themes. I am the RA of the music Explorations floor, F.A.M.E. (Featuring All Music Endeavors). I’m able to use my skills as a performer, music student, and choreographer to help guide the residents that share this passion. We all started out having something in common. I help facilitate ideas for the community, but the music is what bonds us.

This general consensus of having a love for music makes programming easy. We have an Open Mic Night once a month, we see shows in the city, and sometimes we just sit, eat pizza, and listen to music together. Someone always has a show coming up or is working on a project, and there are more than 40 people on our floor to help facilitate any project. Music has done its job of keeping us all together. In fact, there have been times when I walk out into the hallway to find a full dance party going on!

When I first discovered that I was going to be an RA, I immediately thought back to my experience as an orientation leader (OL) for the first-year music business students. As an OL, I learned that being a mentor gives you an opportunity to have deep, meaningful relationships with others in the NYU community. I felt becoming an RA was the best way to build upon this experience.

It’s really hard being a first-year student living away from home for the first time. As a non-New York native myself, I can relate to this. So I share helpful tips on how to cope with life here in New York City. College is difficult in and of itself, but if you also factor in the rigor of the city, it can be overwhelming. On my floor, we often speak about the idea of taking a personal day, going to the park, or finding a local coffee shop to call your own.