Students Seek Leadership Spots

By Samantha Nitz

Many students this week will be preparing to face yet another round of interviews and activities that will decide which few individuals will become the Orientation Leaders and Community Facilitators for next school year.

Over a hundred people submitted applications, however there are not that many spots available for these competitive positions.

These positions are in high-demand partly because of their reputations as jobs that provide free room and board. Community Facilitators live within the dorms and build a sense of community with the residents while upholding university standards. Orientation Leaders live on campus over the summer in order to guide incoming freshmen at orientation and help facilitate a smooth transition into the college lifestyle.

Each job has a different interviewing process. A typical student applying for the positions can participate in anything from single and group interviews to skits about different aspects of college life and the Residential Learning Communities. After each day of the interviewing process, a series of emails are sent out eliminating and advancing applicants.

Those who applied for Community Facilitator positions ranked the top dorms and RLCs they would prefer working in and then attended the subsequent interviews. Those who advance are admitted into a smaller selection pool for their top-ranked RLCs.

While Swig Hall has the most CF positions available, dorms such as McLaughlin Hall and Walsh Hall only have a total of six spots. When there are over 100 applicants, the challenge is daunting for the hopeful students.

In a similar process, those who applied for Orientation Leader spots are put through an interview process which includes group interviews followed by one-on-one interviews.

This past year, there were only 27 students who remained on campus during the summer to be OLs. This year, the Office of Housing and Resident Life will need to find a way to fill those positions with another group of charismatic and diverse students.

No matter how competitive the process may be, it's guaranteed that the jobs will all be filled with students who will work to make campus life thrive next year.

Good luck to all the students who are continuing on this week in the interview process and congratulations in advance to all of those who are chosen.

Contact Samantha Nitz at snitz@scu.edu.