Summer Resident Assistant (SRA) for High School Students (2024)

SRA - serving High School Level students

Open Positions

Stanford Summer Session is hiring approximately 45 Stanford undergraduate students to staff residence halls exclusively housing high school students participating in Summer Session courses. All staff must be available to move into their summer residence by Tuesday, June 18, 2024, complete online training, and attend an evening in-person training session. Positions will be approximately 8 weeks in duration, ending at 5PM on Sunday, August 18, 2024. Positions are part-time and tasked at ~20 hours per week. Although the HS SRA job ends Sunday, August 18, 2024, HS SRAs will have the option to select Summer Session-funded housing and dining coverage for Weeks 9 and 10. During this time, HS SRAs are not hourly employees, nor do they have work obligations in Summer Session. The Housing move schedule and assignments after Week 8 are determined and communicated by R&DE.

Note: the SRA position is employment through Stanford Summer Session, which is separate and distinct from R&DE or ResEd. Although the SRA position has many similarities to the RA position during the academic year under ResEd, the SRA role is unique.

Program Overview

Stanford welcomes nearly 550 high school students each summer – approximately 420 residential and the remainder commuting students. High school students attending Summer Session are among the world’s most academically advanced high school students. Although these students are mature for their age, they rely on Summer Session SRAs to aid in their transition to college life and the many freedoms and responsibilities that come with attending college. The SRA team will orient new students to the Stanford campus and academic life, offer relevant programming and support, build community among the student cohort, and help the students who are struggling with the transition.

Position Overview

SRAs support individual student development, build a healthy and inclusive community, and are visible summer role models and leaders for residential students. Staff help develop educational opportunities that complement and extend classroom learning. They also plan and implement recreational and social activities.

It is imperative that applicants understand that the Residential Experience organizational structure during the summer is distinct from the structure that oversees residential education during the regular Stanford academic year and functions outside of the new neighborhood model. SRAs are supervised by unique summer staff members known as House Directors (HDs). House Directors report to the Assistant Director for Residential Experience (HS) for the Summer Session program. HDs bring a wealth of student affairs experience to the Summer Session staffing structure and provide a crucial layer of supervision and guidance. HDs are responsible for directing all aspects of the residence hall they are assigned to for the summer.

SRAs are expected to know and enforce both University and Summer Session policies and community expectations, and orient students to these policies and expectations. Some of these policies and expectations differ in the summer from those of the Stanford academic year. Additional information about Summer Session rules and responsibilities is explained later in this job description.

Essential Functions

Role Model and Leadership. Residential student staff members are highly visible within the Summer Session community, and they are expected to conduct themselves professionally, both in and out of the residence, at all times. Residents often seek advice from their staff, and therefore, staff should be able to be an active and effective listener, communicate support to students, and refer issues of concern to the appropriate Summer Session team member. All staff should model respect for all people and work together to build a community based on equity and inclusion.

Community Development. SRAs should be present and accessible in the residence and around campus, especially during the evening and weekend hours. Residential student staff members are required to live and sleep in their assigned residence and dine frequently with residents. SRAs serve as the primary orientation staff for Summer Session visiting high school students. As a large number of Summer Session students are international students, residential student staff members must exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity. In addition to orienting international students to the US college classroom and US culture, staff should be prepared to address concerns unique to international students and work to build an inclusive community.

Student Intervention and Crisis Management. Summer Session residential student staff members are at the forefront of student interaction and are most familiar with students’ needs, challenges, and concerns. As such, SRAs are expected to act as mediators during conflict situations; identify concerns and refer students to appropriate resources; address inappropriate resident behavior and policy violations; and assist during urgent and emergent situations (e.g., fire, health, safety, etc.).

Programming. Residential staff are responsible for designing, planning, executing, and staffing a variety of programs throughout the summer, either social or co-curricular in nature. These types of programs may be community-wide, house-wide, or floor-wide. Staff are encouraged to use their interests and passions, as well as those of their residents, to develop creative, informative, and educational programs. Programs should aim to enhance the academic and social experience of the communities served, should be implemented consistently throughout the summer, and should take into account the academic calendar and other trends observed in the community.
Staff are also expected to support Summer Session program-wide events by encouraging resident participation, assisting with the facilitation of activities, avoiding overscheduling, and organizing in-house programming to support these events.

Support of Summer Session Initiatives. Summer Session coordinates a number of community-wide events, such as talent shows, dances, intramural tournaments, speaker series, Day-of-Service events, an end-of-program celebration, and more that require SRA support. In addition to planning and coordinating programming within each residence hall, all summer student staff are expected to sign up to support 5-7 of these community-wide events, which occur on a weekly basis throughout the Summer Quarter. Sign-ups for specific events will be coordinated by professional Summer Session staff members or House Directors, and time spent working will be included as part of the weekly time commitment.

Terms of Employment

Stanford Affiliation. SRA for HS applicants must be current Stanford first-years, sophomores, juniors, or seniors. SRAs may staff the summer immediately following their graduation in June (i.e. their terminal summer). Staff must be eligible for Housing.

Good Academic Standing. SRAs must be in good academic standing with the University.

Living in Residence and Community Dining. Room and board is part of the compensation for this position and SRAs are required to live in the space provided by Summer Session for the duration of the assignment. They are the residential student staff member in the assigned residence and address residential concerns. As such the SRA is required to stay in a private room provided by Summer Session which includes a meal plan and shared community bathroom.

SRAs are expected to be present and visible in the dorm to be a resource for residents. This expectation includes eating some meals with residents through the provided meal plan.

Outside Obligations. Staff may pursue outside work or other activities on- or off-campus up to 20 hours per week. Other jobs at Stanford, combined with SRA work hours, cannot exceed 40 hours per week. Staff must disclose information about their outside work or other Stanford jobs and courses to the Assistant Director for Residential Experience in Summer Session, and Summer Session professional staff may consult with SRA’s other employers as needed. Staff should not have regular outside responsibilities that prevent them from participating in evening and weekend SRA responsibilities.

On-call. The residential student staff members work as a team to ensure on-call after hours coverage of all Summer Session residences. SRAs serve as part of the on-call after hours rotation, which includes late night hours (9pm-2am). Each staff member can expect to have 2-5 on-call after hours shifts during the summer to address emergent and urgent issues. Additionally, SRAs facilitate curfew check-in approximately 8-10 times during the summer.

HS Program Medical Chaperone Shifts. The HS program requires occasional 12-hour shifts. HS SRAs will cycle through this on-call rotation that specifically addresses medically related concerns and issues by responding, assessing, notifying others, and traveling with a student to a care provider. HS SRAs who serve in this capacity must have a valid driver’s license.

Conduct and Policy Enforcement. Residential student staff will adhere to, administer, and enforce policies and procedures as outlined in the Summer Session Program Handbook, Stanford Residence Agreement, and all other University and Summer Session policies. Staff must be willing to address, document, and handle disciplinary situations and serve in a position of authority in the residences and within the Summer Session community.

Alcohol and Drug Policy. Summer Session residential staff members are not allowed to consume, possess, or be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or controlled substances:

In or near the residences of high school students participating in Summer Session;
While on-call;
SRAs under the age of 21 may not consume, possess or be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or controlled substances at any time on campus during their tenure.
SRAs over the age of 21 may not possess or consume alcohol, or marijuana or controlled substances, in their private residential space in a high school dorm. SRAs over the age of 21 may possess and consume alcohol, but not marijuana or controlled substances, in other appropriate spaces on campus.
SRAs may not supply or consume alcohol, marijuana, or controlled substances with any resident or underage staff.

SRAs are highly visible role models and should conduct themselves accordingly. Failure to abide by the Alcohol and Drug Policy will result in immediate termination of employment and suspension of housing and dining privileges.

Overnight Away and Guests. Staff may not be away from campus overnight without permission requested well in advance from their House Director and/or the Assistant Director for Residential Experience. SRAs may have guests in the high school residences before 1:00 am, but may not have overnight guests in their residences. Guests must be accompanied at all times in the residence. Failure to abide by this policy will result in immediate termination of employment and suspension of housing and dining privileges.

Training and Welcome Weekend. Staff are required to attend and actively participate in all staff training sessions. SRAs are required to move in by Tuesday, June 18, 2024, complete online training, and attend an evening in-person training session. In-person SRA training is June 19-21. Training will last all day and often extends into the evening hours. Staff are required to attend and participate in Welcome Weekend (June 22-23, 2024) events. Failure to attend training or participate in Welcome Weekend is grounds for dismissal and loss of housing and dining privileges.

Background Check. Staff must successfully complete a Live Scan fingerprint background check before Welcome Weekend. The Live Scan appointment should be completed by June 4, 2024 to allow sufficient time for processing and results to be received by Stanford.

Ideal Candidate

The SRA position is an exceptional opportunity in leadership development. Applications from mature and highly motivated applicants with a strong leadership background and potential for success in this unique residential context are welcomed and encouraged. The successful candidate will demonstrate initiative, creativity, responsibility, and maturity. They will be able to work independently and as part of a team, with exceptional decision-making skills in ideal and high-stress situations. They will demonstrate leadership among peers and the ability to lead a diverse group of younger students. They will have creative ideas and the skills and capacity to follow through on them. They will have an eye toward creating, planning, and implementing engaging events for a diverse audience. The ideal candidate will have high emotional intelligence and the ability to balance the dual role of authority and peer.

Compensation

Compensation during the employment contract dates will include pay of $18/hour, housing (private room), dining plan (15 meals/week or stipend, for eligible students), and student fees (housing technology fee and the campus health service fee).

Staff are expected to work 20 hours per week. Stanford Summer Session provides a $25/month cell phone stipend (pro-rated), which will be paid via Stanford payroll. Stanford does not reimburse cell phone costs. A Summer Session cell phone is provided during on-call shifts.

Please note that the compensation is only for the employment contract dates rather than the entire summer; however, spring-to-summer housing is included for staff who are living on campus during Spring Quarter. Housing for weeks 9 and 10 in summer is also included for SRAs who choose the option to continue living on campus those weeks.

Application Details

To apply for a residential staff position, please complete the online application and indicate your program preference. The application asks for a resume and reference. Qualified applicants will be invited to an interview. Applications submitted by 3/13/24 will receive priority consideration. We will continue to accept applications after this date until all positions are filled.

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Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note: Visa sponsorship is not available for the SRA position. All candidates must be eligible to work in the U.S. and live in the U.S.

SRA applicants must be able to complete the onboarding process in person on Stanford campus prior to or by June 13, 2024.