University Housing

(lilak1) (totonch1) (bartsch1) (lange14) (qclark2)

University housing is a complex system of Resident Advisors, Multicultural Advisors, Resident Directors, Area Coordinators, and maintenance workers.  This army of workers makes it possible for freshman to live on campus.  These advisors provide many resources to students and are very dependable.  University housing also includes dining services, such as, Ikenberry and PAR.  All in all, University housing is responsible for the majority of freshman and make sure they have a successful transition and get a good start at the University of Illinois. 

University housing was created to serve the students of the University of Illinois.  There are resident halls across campus that cater to those who live there.  Faculty of  University Housing include: resident advisors, resident directors, area coordinators, programming advisors, desk clerks, office assistants, building service workers and maintenance works.  However, nothing would be possible without area directors, program coordinators, and the associate directs, Jim Rooney.  

The competencies required for these jobs are creativity, organization, leadership, well balanced communication skills, and professional conflict resolution skills. Many issues arise for University Housing faculty; for example, suicide, alcohol, and vandalism on housing property. Faculty must be ready and trained for situations like these and therefore must be organized during different issues that may arise.

This is a picture of the resident advisors and the resident directors of the building Trelease in the resident hall FAR. There are several employment opportunities that are offered in a residential hall. These positions include resident advisors, resident directors, area coordinators, desk clerks, building service workers, maintenance workers, and office assistants. These positions have different ways to go about getting a job and are fairly competitive. According to Selam Totonchi, currently a resident advisor, out of five-hundred applicants to become a resident advisor, only eighty of them well get the job. One can become a resident advisor by applying in the Fall semester. This process includes a resume, two written essays, references, and an interview. Although it is a competitive interview process, if one receives the job, it is a very rewarding experience to be a resident advisor.  

Current trends and issues: A current and ongoing trend within University Housing is having RA's as well as RD's plan and coordinate floor events.  RA's work together to provide their residents with stress-relieving activities throughout the semester.  Current issues include alcohol poisoning, domestic disputes, and suicide.  An RA committed suicide in the building of Oglesby Residence Hall at FAR during Thanksgiving break of 2008.  The situation was unexpected and all RA's and RD's were informed and checked on.  The University Housing faculty is trained for situations like this, as well as others every year.

Leisure: The agencies definition of leisure is to provide residents and faculty with activities to fill free time away from studying.  The event in the picture shown is pie your RA and RD. This is a fun stress reliever for the faculty. Other events that are done for faculty are dances, bowling, and ice cream socials for everyone to socialize and destress from employee life and university problems.

After researching and visiting our agency, we realized that we had learned a lot. University Housing faculty go through many issues and complications as the school year progresses. However, they are well trained for any scenario that may arise. Looking more specifically in the career of a Resident Advisor in the agency, you can see that time management may be an issue. Resident Advisors need to balance weekly meetings with the staff, as well as, complete social, wellness, and social justice programs for their residents. Along with all these tasks, RA’s must be full time students and keep up a cumulative GPA of 2.3. This means that they need to study and maintain high grades along with all the tasks of an RA. However, a pro of being an RA is the social experiences they have with the many diverse residents they are in charge of. RA’s also become well trained to handle incidents regarding alcohol and domestic disputes, as well as, increase their leadership skills. Overall, University Housing fits into the leisure delivery system because it provides programs for its faculty and students that decrease the stress of real life.

Assignment 2: Subgroup A --Therapeutic Recreation

    Therapeutic Recreation

     The agency we researched for this project was the CUSR which is short for the Champaign-Urbana Special Recreation. The person we talked to for this project was Dawn Schaefer who is the Director and has been involved in the Therapeutic Recreation field for more than twenty years. CUSR and its member park districts believe that all individuals should be provided with leisure opportunities that allow for performance at their highest level of ability. CUSR provides the type of support that is needed for participation. 

WHO: CUSR (Champaign-Urbana Special Recreation) which is also known as Hays Recreation Center

WHERE: The CUSR is located in Champaign on W Church Street

HOW:  The CUSR is funded by tax dollars. They also charge fees for their programs programs and are actively seeking grants for funding. In addition, Dawn informed us that they are also trying to develop a scholarship fund.

WHAT: The mission is to advocate for and provide access to a full range of recreational opportunities for people with disabilities to focus on, further define and provide our core programs to create partnerships that will increase participation and programs.

WHY: CUSR exists to ensure that people with disabilities have access to a full range of recreational services.

CUSR is open Monday through Friday from 8am until 5pm.

     Not just anybody can work in this agency. Two core competencies that are required in order to obtain a job at CUSR is that the applicant must have a degree in special recreation and also pass the NCTRC (National Counsel for Therapeutic Recreation Certification) exam in order to receive CTRS (certified therapeutic recreation specialist).

     Dawn informed us that there are a few different employment opportunities that are available at the agency. The highest is the Director. There are also three coordinators. One is responsible for coordinating activities and programs for teens and children, another coordinator is responsible for adults and seniors and the final coordinator deals with athletics. The Staff are the leaders of the programs and CUSR also has many volunteers who are people that support the leaders. Many volunteers come from here on campus and the surrounding high schools. 

      There aren't really any present issues with the agency. However, Dawn specifically said that one of the strengths of this agency is that they are a therapeutic program, not just a recreation program. She told us that in the past for pizza night the people would just come and eat, but now if they want to eat, they have to make it first. This allows the participants to learn skill building. In addition, this approach also serves as an excellent learning process. There are many different activities that people can take part in. As seen by the pictures, kids can play at the playground or enjoy a game of basketball. 

CUSR strives to enhance participants' abilities in enjoyable recreational, leisure, and social settings. One of the many benefits that this agency provides is that it is for anyone. Although the majority of the people have autism or are on the autism spectrum, there are some with cerebral palsy and CUSR strives to make sure that everyone, no matter what your disability, is successful. The CUSR is also currently trying to build into a paraolympic program.

After visiting the Champaign Urbana Special Recreation center, it was easy to see the benefits of having a job of a career in this agency. It was clear (and she even told us a number of times) that Dawn absolutely loves what she does. "I get to come to work and play every day". Every day is a reward, it is easy to see the improvements in the people that take part in the programs. CUSR gives people with disabilties many of the same opportunities that people without disabilities have access to. One of the difficult tasks of this career is that it takes the right kind of person to ensure that the job will get done in a successul manner. These careers are very exclusive to a specific person, not everyone can do this, demands a certain person that is fit to handle all that the job entailsNot everyone may be fit to handle some of the jobs in this field because they can be emotionally bearing. This agency fits into the leisure system because it was recognized that people with disabilities had unique needs with respect to leisure and recreation and therapeutic recreation provides community-based leisure opportunities for people with disabilities throughout the United States.

                                         

Stacy Warchol- Leisure

My definition of leisure is time spent doing activities that you enjoy. It's a break from the stresses and responsibilities of every day life, and acts as a mini vacation from your day. This is a picture of me at a Sox game and is a good representation of what leisure means to me. I love baseball and try to go to as many games as I can. It's a time where I can relax and enjoy myself without any worries. While leisure means many different things to different people, leisure always represents something the individual has a desire to do. It is time devoted to yourself as opposed to time spent working, going to class, and handling the many responsibilities of life. Leisure is something we all need to maintain balance in life. It creates enjoyable and memorable experiences in a chaotic life.