Nadia the Ne Plus Ultra of CA's
The first thing you noticed before you started reading this is something along the lines of "what in the world does Ne Plus Ultra mean and what does that have to do with Nadia the CA?" If you want to know the answer to that, you are just going to have to keep reading. Starting with a little background information, Nadia Simon is a CA at Elwell Hall at Bloomsburg University. You may find her working the front desk, talking to people asking them about their day, or just simply doing something to make the environment at Elwell a better place.
Being a CA was not something that Nadia had on her bucket list. She originally had no interest in being a CA, but when the opportunity presented itself, she ran with it. "At first I didn't want to be a CA lol. My CA nominated me and I was confused on why because I didn't see myself doing it. One day I really thought about it and I realized that this would be a great opportunity because I love helping people and I knew I was a leader so I said why not." She could have easily turned down the offer and continued her college career as a regular student. Instead she recognized an opportunity to not only better herself, but in the process help incoming freshmen with the fears and anxiety of beginning a new chapter in their life. This includes having occasional checkups with each student on her floor, having meetings to go over upcoming events, providing assistance with homework, and even helping students pick their classes to meet expectations. Being a CA almost involves being both an academic counselor and advisor! Nadia trains for two weeks before classes start in the fall preparing her to functionally perform these tasks. This leads us to the present, where Nadia is now a sophomore assisting with the many questions and concerns of all the needy students throughout the seven floors of Elwell.
Nadia did not just walk her way into becoming a CA. It is not something that is given, first thing being "first, you apply to be a CA. Then you have 2 rounds of interviews. After that they go through and decide if they want you or not and you get an email about 3 weeks later that says you got the job, you didn't get the job, or you're on the waitlist. Then 2 weeks later you get an email about where you're gonna be placed." Believe it or not, there are a lot of people that apply to be CA's and it is one against the other. It is a process that is longer than other jobs available, so you have to really want it and be prepared for the interviews if you want the perks that come with being a CA. "It looks good on your resume as being a CA and it shows leadership qualities. It gives you growth as a person which is very helpful. You learn new things about yourself that you didn't know before." This is something that can not be said about other jobs.
Individuals may not even think twice about the challenges that come with being a CA. You can not just "sit on your ass," as Nadia declared with a stern unmoving face. She had to overcome many challenges and still faces challenges today. To start, Nadia's greatest problem was talking to people. "Before I became a CA I was very shy and introverted and I didn't really like having conversations with people I didn't know." She had to push herself out of her boundaries when residents moved in and start talking to them. This is something that Nadia was learning fast. Not long into being a CA, Nadia realized that to be a CA, you have to be ready to deal with "conflicts by talking to them directly in a kind way (depending on the situation) and remind them of the rules while also making sure that they understand where I'm coming from and I see where they’re coming from." With this, Nadia has to be firm and put her foot down to avoid students from getting out of control.
For those of you who live in the dorms, ever wonder who puts up all the posters and welcoming door name tags. Well you guessed it, it's the CA's. CA's are required to make the dorm hallways look somewhat interesting and provide posters with information that could be useful. A week before everyone came back from winter break, Nadia and her co-CA David were putting up paper to create name tags for everyone's door.
I completely crushed her hopes with the lazy reply, “I really don't know, I'm sure you guys will figure it out!”
"Thanks Will,” Nadia replies sarcastically, but at the same time playfully and continues to examine the door intensely trying to figure out the best choice."
About an hour later, half of the hall that Nadia and David had already done with different colors of construction paper was ripped down and replaced with a brown background that matched perfectly with the colors of the name tags. Nadia's unrelenting persistence to make things perfect communicates the fact that CA's have to have a little bit of creativity in them. They have to be okay with doing tedious tasks.
Being a CA requires a lot more than what is seen with the naked eye. They have to understand a lot about the school and what's going on to relay information back to students, go through a grueling hiring process, then deal with everyday challenges and tasks to make the dorm a happy and healthy environment. If you have not looked it up already, Ne Plus Ultra "is the perfect or most extreme example of its kind; the ultimate." There are simply no other CA's quite like Nadia with the determination, perseverance, and perfectionist attitude to do the things that she does as a CA.
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