We are always meeting student leaders who are going the extra mile to make others feel welcome and build community culture on their campuses. We realized that one great way to learn from each other is to spotlight different students who have made an impact on the lives of their fellow students.
Meet Michael Cusanza, a student at Louisiana State University. He’s a Business Management major and a Resident Assistant on campus. We asked him about the the things he loves on campus and how he gets others involved.
What’s your favorite campus tradition?
“At LSU, everyday the bell tower rings with the time every 15 minutes, and at noon, it rings out the school’s anthem. I love hearing the ring of the bell. It makes me feel at home.”
Have you ever had a difficult time connecting with a student but eventually got them engaged in the community?
“My first semester as an RA, I was a mid-year hire and was put on a floor where the old RA didn’t enforce rules or care about connecting with residents. When I came and tried to start building community, the residents didn’t care for it and began vandalizing my hallway by taking all my decorations and ripping down signs. Throughout the semester, I made it a goal to connect with my residents. I invited many of them to the dining hall, to watch sports and to be tutored by me but only a few responded. On the last day of checkouts, I was feeling so down on myself because I felt I had never succeeded in helping or connecting with my residents. But as I checked out my last resident for the year, he told me that he was sorry for all of the destruction that he and his fellow residents had caused and that he really appreciated all I had done for them and that I had a made a real impact in his life.”
What kind of events do the best at connecting people?
“Ones that give the residents the chance to truly get to know their RA and make meaningful conversation. I also think that events that are typical (pizza party with movies) do not create the most connections. Ones that are more interesting and authentic (planting flowers in pots and talking about drug awareness) make more of an impact.”
Does your school have any traditions like Michael’s?
