“Hi, what’s your name?” “Where are you from?” “What’s your major?”

These are the questions that are going to be repeated thousands of times in the coming weeks as classes start and hundreds of first-years meet for the first time. This will also be accompanied with the obligatory forgetting of names, the awkward debate of whether to say hi to someone in passing, and the sheer overwhelming feeling of how many new people there are to meet.

With all the people on campus, there are three who are possibly the most important, and they can actually make your life at SMU significantly better if you take the time to engage them and forge a meaningful personal connection.

Resident Assistants (RA):

These people do far more than just check you in and disappear. They are responsible for putting together community programming, manning late-night telephone help lines, resolving conflicts and just generally ensuring that life is pleasant for SMU residents.

Becoming friends with your RA will ensure that you know what is going on around your Residential Commons and will certainly be an advantage should you ever need help or get in trouble. Oh, and they’re really cool people too. Dropping by your RA’s office hours or attending one of their events will certainly be appreciated. Additionally, they are not out to get you in trouble either. Even the smallest things involve lots of paperwork, reporting and hassle for your RA’s, so unless you’re blatantly breaking things or keeping people up at ungodly hours (both bad choices), your RA is certainly your friend and not the enemy. So please, get to know your friendly neighborhood RA.

Faculty in Residence (FIR):

One of the strongest assets of the Residential Commons system is the Faculty-in-Residence program. These professors, living amongst their students, bring a whole different dimension to residential life. All of them are interesting, motivated and involved members of SMU’s staff who truly care about their students. Many of them sponsor extremely valuable programming as well. There can be free food, friendship and even puppies to be found at the open door of a FIR. Getting to know your FIR and taking advantage of the programs they offer is completely worthwhile.

Residential Community Director (RCD):

For the longest time I couldn’t figure out what an RCD was or what they did. Even upon asking my own RCD, the answer I received was “mostly email.” But live in a Residential Community for long enough and you will see that these people are absolutely integral to your quality of life. They are the staff who are ultimately responsible for ensuring that everything in your building runs smoothly and that there are a broad range of activities to keep students involved.

Something you like about RC living? You know who to thank. Something you need fixed or think can be improved? The RCD is the place to go to make that happen. Being friends with your RCD is a good way to ensure that you know all that is taking place in your residential Commons.