One of the most important things in a community is having people who care about you and know when you’re struggling or succeeding. On Slater 7, the women support each other in times of stress and difficulty. As their RA, I had to do very little to build this support system, and in March, the residents were there for each other without prompting. When residents struggle with relationships outside of Slater, there is always someone here to offer advice or just listen. When residents succeed, someone will always be around to celebrate. Before spring break, ladies were sad to leave each other and after break everyone was very excited to see each other again.

March is a month of midterms and the ladies if Slater 7 were there to motivate each other to study. Several residents are in the same classes and formed study groups. Ladies worked hard together to succeed and celebrated with each other when they were successful. Even not during midterms, it’s common to see a group of residents in one of the study spaces in Slater studying together. An important aspect of healthy and productive studying is getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and staying active. A few of the women of Slater 7 were instrumental in maintaining balance by setting up group work outs.

In March, several women had birthdays and their neighbors helped them celebrate. They made signs, door decorations, put up streamers and balloons and sang “Happy Birthday” at midnight to make the birthday girl feel at home on her first birthday celebrated away from home.

In March, I held a couple of events in Slater and the ladies from Slater 7 supported me. There was a late night, alcohol alternative Highlighter Party/Rave for the entire building and some women from my floor came, decorated t-shirts and danced. We also went on an outing to get frozen yogurt and some ladies recruited others to join us. The women of Slater 7 enjoy hanging out at programs and support programs held in the building.

In Slater, RAs nominate a “Student of the Week” and several of the ladies of Slater 7 have gotten excited about the title and want to be nominated. They have made positive changes on the floor to show how much they care about the building and appreciate living here. These ladies promote “Quiet Hours” by reminding floor-mates to take conversations out of the hallway and to close their doors if their TV or music is too loud. They also have become conscious of diversity and work hard to remind themselves and their neighbors to be accepting and create a welcoming community.

As their RA, I wish I could nominate all of the women of Slater 7 for Slater Student of the Week because they are kind and caring, keep each other motivated to do well academically, celebrate birthdays and successes, support RAs in the building, and work hard to make Slater 7 a welcoming community. Because of their excellence in March, as well as throughout the year, Slater 7 deserves to be named Community of the Month.

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