It’s that time of year again when students have the chance to sign up and potentially become a community advisor for the 2017-18 school year.

At Robert Morris University, community advisors are students who want to help other students get involved with campus activities. Anybody can be a future community advisor, if they have what it takes.

According to Area Coordinator Erin Hill, a community advisor, commonly known as a CA, is a student who lives in the residence halls and is in charge of making the halls more of a community.

“They (CAs) do rounds every night and on the weekends to make sure that everybody stays safe. They are also expected to follow all policies and enforce the policies, but mostly they’re there to build communities in their hall, do programs, get people involved in stuff and to be a resource if students are having a hard time,” said Hill.

In order to become a CA, students must plan on being on campus for the next two semesters. Students also must have a GPA of 2.75 and be involved in at least some student activities.

“We look for people to be at least a little bit involved so that we know that they know campus resources, different clubs… We know that they have leadership ability, (they) want to be involved with campus,” said Hill.

If a student does accept the task of becoming a CA, they can be assigned to any of the traditional dorms or apartments, or assigned to Yorktown Hall or Braddock Hall However, in order to be a CA for the apartments, a student must be at least 21-years-old.

“We fill in the resident halls with returning CAs first and then based on where they are and the area coordinator who run each building, we’ll talk about which applicant would fit best with their personality and what they’re looking for… We do ask them (CAs) if they have a preference between Yorktown, the traditional halls, the apartments and Washington,” said Hill.

Some benefits of becoming a CA include free housing and free Patriot meal plan. It also can improve resumes or interviews since it is a leadership position.

“You’re a campus resource for two-thousands plus residents,” said Hill, “You have the opportunity to impact campus, you can do these programs that make people feel like that they’re involved, students can come to you who are really struggling and you can help them maybe get them to stay at the university or get them to feel like they have a friend on campus. So I think the biggest benefit is just being able to make a difference with people.”

For a student to become a new CA, he/she must fill out the online application by Friday, Dec. 9 by 5 p.m. Students are also recommended to attend one of the following informational sessions:

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016 from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – CA Info Session in Salem Lower Lobby

Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 from 7:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. – CA Info Session in Yorktown Ballroom

Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 from 9:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. – CA Info Session in Salem Lower Lobby

Formal and informal interviews for CA positions will begin shortly after the end of winter break. For more information, contact Erin Hill via email at [email protected] or via office phone at 412-397-5237.