A Student Residential Advisor’s role at uni

• Author: George Diamantopoulos, Mechanical Engineering BEng(Hons), School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering

Hi – I’m George and I’m an engineering student from Greece, entering the final year of my Mechanical Engineering BEng. I have served as a Student Residential Advisor (SRA) for my uni campus since September 2021. Here I’m going to tell you how SRAs help students and what’s involved.

The role of an SRA

The core purpose of the role is to help students residing in uni accommodation. I always believe that a position has power only if the team which supports it is dedicated and passionate enough. And that is the case with Varley Park. My supervisors have been motivated, conscientious and capable leaders from the first moment.

Such a dedicated and caring team allows me and the rest of the student advisors to thrive. The help I offer is based around being an effective mediator. An SRA has to be able to efficiently sign-post, defuse situations and act with integrity.

My duties include assisting students with homesickness struggles, being on night-shift calls and organizing social events throughout the academic year to create a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere for everyone living in this community.

The SRA role has the simple intention of enriching and enhancing the student experience. A simple sounding purpose but a vital one. Students can therefore have a reference point and have the ability to relate. Our SRA team is diverse and consists of students from different disciplines and countries. This is extremely important. I want to act as a mirror to students’ academic or mental health struggles to the extent where I don’t sacrifice my personal balance.

Gaining a senior role

Just a few days before writing this article, I was interviewed and was successful on receiving the senior SRA position. I just feel fulfilment and am excited to help newly recruited SRAs to learn more about the role and engage as many students as possible.

The senior role will allow me to understand how my fellow SRAs experience the role, what value they bring to the table and how I can use my team’s strengths to induce healthy communication principles and accurately refer to my supervisors, when needed.

The great concept about the SRA scheme is that it’s newly established. Thus, the people, who actually care about the development of the program can affect its course. I intend on doing exactly that. I want to bring value to the role, establish a fundamental knowledge, upon which students will be able to capitalise, when I graduate, and am no longer here.

I received help from an SRA when I came in Brighton for the first time, back in 2019. I just want to return the help I was given.