Assistant resident directors positioned to make a difference
By Tori Urch
Nicole Freidlein, a senior psychology and relational communications student, faced a challenge during her time as the Assistant Resident Director of Nelson Hall when a resident suddenly died in November.
“It was difficult to figure out how to lead a team of people though what seemed like something that you’re never going to get through,” Friedlein said. “There was an immense fear that Nelson would have this plague over it and lose the community environment that I know it has always had.”
Freidlein took the leadership role and made a difference. “She could feel that Nelson was in a bad place, and she did her part,” said Kaitara Krueger, a Nelson Hall resident who lived on the same floor as Friedlein. “She whipped out her lefse maker one night when she was on Shack, and it brought together everyone who was affected.” A hurting community was pulled together by the actions of their ARD.
Krueger, a freshman business student, was confused about the ARD position when she first walked into Nelson Hall last year. “It just seemed like another RA who was really excited about Bethel,” she said. What Krueger didn’t realize is that her ARD would become one of the biggest influences on her first year of college and Nelson Hall as a whole.
“(Friedlein) was a leader and a senior and still wanted to get to know me,” said Krueger. “I made some big decisions with her help, and she supported me through it all.”
The ARD position was initially put into place in Nelson Hall in the early 2000’s because of its large size, and it was later implemented into Leissner, Arden Village, and North Village. Because of the positive impact and feedback that the position has received, the Residence Life Leadership Team has decided that ARDs will now be implemented into all dorms for the 2018–19 school year.
ARDs serve as a middle-person between Resident Assistants and the Resident Director of a dorm. They live in the residence hall and their responsibilities include supporting and acting as a team leader for the RA’s along with assisting the RD with spiritual and leadership development, office tasks, and the overall operation of the residence hall. Other schools, such as Hamline and Augsburg University, have also implemented similar positions into their dorms.
Alexa Samolinski, a current RA and next year’s ARD of Getsch Hall, said, “I’m excited to get to be the first ARD in Getsch and pave the way for the people after me.” The need for widespread implementation of the position is due to a variety of reasons.
Resident Directors have numerous responsibilities that stretch beyond the basic operations of a dorm, and having an ARD is a way of lightening their to-do lists, giving them time to develop leadership and organizational skills. Friedlein emphasized that ARDs have the ability to reduce burnout, which is why Bethel has such high retention of RDs. “Something as simple as changing the (hall calendar) to the next month takes a half hour,” she said. “That’s a half hour that the RD could be addressing a student concern, if the ARD does it instead.”
Jenna Peterson, an RA in Nelson Hall, spoke of how much she appreciated having an ARD. “On more than one occasion,” she said with a laugh, “I’ve gone to (Friedlein) for advice about a how to talk to a resident because she has often dealt with a similar situation.” With the full schedules of RDs, having another individual to go to was quite beneficial.
“I don’t know how our dorm would be able to function without an ARD,” Peterson said.
The benefits also extend to the dorm residents. “(Freidlein) was just someone who made you feel important, which is something I’ve been learning about in my leadership class,” Kreuger said. “‘Make your followers feel important and they’ll want to follow you.’”
Although Friedlein graduates this spring and will no longer be a member of the Residence Life staff, a new team of eight ARDs will begin training in early August before settling into their roles. “Bethel does a great job of creating leadership roles for students,” Samolinski said. “I’m looking forward to gaining experience in leading a team and figuring out how to support each of them to the best of my ability.”
