By Luis Palomino / Staff Writer

Around 20 of Missouri Valley College´s Resident Assistants (RAs) and Resident Coordinators (RCs) will be leaving after graduation on May 2025. Interviews for their replacements were initially scheduled for March 24, and decisions were planned to be announced on April 1, but dates were pushed so students have more time to apply. This situation has required a major effort by the Housing Department, which extended the application dates.

The RA role is vital for keeping safety on campus, enforcing policies and encouraging community in residence halls. With a significant portion of residential life staff departing, Jo-Elle Natividad, Housing Directo,r emphasises the importance of this role and how competitive the hiring process is:

“I normally give everybody a chance to interview because anyone can put a lot of stuff down on a resume, but not everyone does good in an interview,” she said.

Even though Natividad assures fairness in the process, some students have raised concerns about potential favoritism in the RA selection. Rumours along campus and the international community suggest that current RAs and RCs may have influenced interview scheduling or even interviewed their friends to help them get through the selection process.

“I´ve heard about the rumors… I just hope it will be a fair process and the ones in charge take the best picks for the job,” said M. Ferraro, RA applicant.

I.Lorente, graduating RA, was hired for this position almost three years ago, mentioned how his process was:

 “I would say it was a fair process, I had three interviewers from the same nationality, but I think an RA has to have the qualities and ability to handle situations like this and more, what I am sure is that this is not an easy job,” Lorente said.

Athletic coaches also encourage their students to pursue the RA positions and usually put in a referral to help them, primarily for the financial benefits. Natividad accepts these referrals but has stated that it will not influence hiring decisions.

“I take it with a grain of salt if they put in a reference for them,” she said. “But I try not to make that a factor in why I hire people,”

Natividad directs students in need of financial support to explore other options.

“I do always recommend, like if they need really big help or anything to go to see if they can get a couple shifts at the cafeteria or call Derek Bohnsack, Director of Financial Aid,” she said.

Also, she mentioned that opportunities will keep coming to students, maybe not as resident assistants, but MoVal will keep offering opportunities to students.

“Hopefully, once I do the final housing numbers, I will know the final number of Ras I will need,” she said.

As the process is already in the final steps, Natividad mentioned that she will be filling at least 15 positions due to all the ones leaving. Final decisions should be communicated in the next few days so the MoVal community will know which students will take these key leadership positions for the next academic year.