Cultural Enrichment: My time at the Camp Roanoke RA Confrence

Earlier in November, the Richard Bland Collge office of Residence Life Team decided to take 6 RA's to an overnight conference at Roanoke College. This was an all expense paid trip for me also including free meals and a beautiful hotel to stay in. The whole purpose of the conference is to allow other RA's to connect with the other RA's at colleges statewide (VA).

At the conference, 3 schools really stood out to me and they were: Norfolk State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Old Dominion University. From the time these 3 colleges walked in I knew that I would potentially be the school I decide to transfer too. They all were so nice and really treated me like family. However on the day od the conference I decided that I would be attending...... ODU. The RA's at the college really treated me like they knew me for years and they also made me feel very welcomed and I am glad that I met the ODU residence life student staff.

At the conference, I tried a lot of new things. From eating new foods and snacks to shooting funny videos with RBC RA team. The RA Conference reality allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. I would have never imagined me stepping out of my zone and talking to literally every school in the state of VA. It was a really a great day. I even started my first bonfire by myself despite a couple burns and bruises along the journey. Life is all about trying new things and meeting people to me and the conference really allowed to accomplish both of those things. I am excited about attending the conference again in the fall of next year with ODU this time lol.

Personal Enrichment: Semester Ending RA Event

Smooth out your college life RA Event

As you, all might already know I am a resident assistant for Freedom Hall. One of our job tasks is to plan events every month. My theme for the month of December along with other Resident Assistants in my building is the simple fact that we should all just have a "smooth" and "chill" week during exams and that we didn't have to be nearly as stressed out as other students are. We wanted to promote programs that help students really relax so that they don't enter into finals week stressed out.

This was a fun event basically we brought a lot of different assorted fruits and lined them up buffet style on a table and allowed residents to pick two fruits and we would make them a corresponding smoothie. After everyone's smoothie was made we engaged in an intellectual conversation about how different fruits stimulate cognitive development. It was an awesome event hosted by me and I was glad that residents enjoyed the program.

Overall this program was very successful. I had people come out that hardly ever leave the room to come make a smoothie and talk with me. This is truly what programs are about. I enjoyed the fact that I created something that was very beneficial to other students. Here are some pictures of students at the event. About 40 students attended this event.

Financial Literacy

I entered into college in the fall of 2015. With $1,000 in my bank account. I was very careful with money, I tired to use my meal plan to it's capacity and I also tried to refrain from careless spending. Today 1 year later I still have 500.00 of this money left. I plan to double this over the summer by working 2 jobs and saving as I go I plan to save 100 dollars each month over the summer which will be 500.00 and do the process over again. Entering into college with $1,000 can truly last you for a while if you are not stupid with your money.

Delegate Aird's "Journey To Leadership"

I had the opportunity to interview Delegate Aird, who is the Representative of the 63rd district for the house of delegates. We talked all about leadership and she gave me some tools to further my community involvement.

What's First?

"There was a lot of different avenues in regards to where I am currently". She urged me to get involved in a professional internship. She said being exposed to a cooperate feel, prepares you for the professional environment. She encouraged me to learn more lessons 

What Skills Do I Need?

Hunger and Drive are the most important skills to be a effective leader. 

What's Next?

She wants to do everything she can do for the people who she represents.

Last words of advice: In anything you do, be effective and ensure results. 

Academic News

I got a 100 on my Bio Final
I got a 95 on Statistics Final

I will most likely have an 4.0 this semester if I nail this exam Friday!  Wish me luck!!  

Reflection on College Life

My College Life The Good Bad and the Ugly

College life for me has overall been great. I sometimes get jealous that the college doesn't really offer much campus things to do that are "lit". I see my friends at other universities engaged in so many things, from meeting Michelle Obama to The Weekend. As far as the good goes in college life, I will say that academically I have been challenged and I have maintained a 3.5 GPA and I am elated regarding that accomplishment. As far as the bad goes, RBC as a whole could use some more organization, it seems like everything is made up or added as you go, nothing seems to be set in stone for the students. Overall on a scale of 1-10, my college experience here at RBC is about a 7, but I know it will get better!

Resume

Objective	To help, mentor, guide and develop people, through political and educational leadership.
Skills & Abilities	Basic Microsoft Office Skills, Customer service, Campaign Management, Leadership, Team Building, Decision-Making, People skills, Data Analysis, Conflict Mediation, Event Planning & Management, Organizational Development, and Training.
Experience	Richard Bland college office of residence life Resident Advisor November 201 -Present ·         Promote and sustain organic leadership by maintaining positive peer-leader relationships and supporting the goals of your residents. ·         Help residents make connections to one another and to the floor and building community. ·         Mediate conflicts amongst residents as they arise. ·         Encourage residents to respect and maintain the facility. ·         Address all policy violations immediately and consistently ·         Understand and uphold all university and residence hall rules, regulations, and policies.   Richard Bland COLLEGE ENROLLMENT SERVICES Campus Tour Guide August 2015- Present ·         Assist in Undergraduate Admissions projects. ·         Perform data entry and office support as needed. ·         Staff the front desk. ·         Provide a positive visit experience to all guests. ·         Guide memorable walking tours for individuals, families and large groups. goodwill career development services Career Employment Center Intern ·         Assisted the career employment center ·         Did Weekly Goodwill Walkthroughs ·         Called customers and did surveys of their services ·         Staff the front desk ·         Managed excel spreadsheet of surveys seaworld parks & entertainment, busch gardens williamsburg Food Service Cashier September 2013 – August 2016 ·         Greet and serve each guest in an fast, efficient and courteous manner ·         Maintain monies and sales information for audit and balance ·         Maintain clean and safe work area as defined by SEA and Health Dept. standards ·         Restock and clean respective area upon closing, to include cleaning station, floors, and trash cans. ·         Maintain clean and safe work area as defined by SEA and Health Dept. standards
Education	Richard Bland College of William & Mary (Current, May 2017) ·         Associate of Science, ( Social Science) ·         Honors Program, Presidential Scholarship (3.6 GPA) Achievable Dream High School (June 2015) ·         Advanced Studies Diploma ·         Governors Seal for Civic Education Virginia Chamber of Commerce (June 2014) ·         Youth Leadership Development Diploma
Leadership	Student Conduct Board Student Member (Current) (Richard Bland College) Senior Class President 2014-2015 (Achievable Dream High School) President, Residence Hall Association , Current (Richard Bland College) Committee Member, Student Success Committee (Richard Bland College) Student Conduct Board Member (Fall 2016) (Richard Bland College)
References	Kristina Lee Assistant Director of Residence Life Richard Bland College 804-862-6161  (klee@rbc.edu) Judy Wachsmann Director of Admissions Richard Bland College 804-862-6100 (jwachsmann@rbc.edu) Dr. Elizabeth Reshcer Professor of English Richard Bland College 804-862-6100 (erescher@rbc.edu) Cathy Bacote Assistant Principal for Instruction Newport News Public Schools (CBacote@nn.k12.va.us)

Vision Blog Post #2

To educate, counsel, guide and develop young adults into better adults through the art of leadership.

RHA Kick Off Event

RHA's first kick off event was the "Hall vs. Hall" basketball tournament. It consisted of basketball teams from Patriot Hall residents and Freedom Hall residents led by the RHA hall reps Jarvis Lee and Jalen Gray. This event had about 162 people attend and the audience seemed quite satisfied with the event. It was a great event that really promoted a community bond among not only the residential students but the commuter students as well. As the President of this group I was in fact very proud.

The Creation of the Residence Hall Association

My first semester here at the college I noticed a lack of student moral and programs and the residence halls. I also noticed that there was just so many issues that students had with the community that no one cared about or paid attention to. So I met with the President of the college and we talked and she gave me the task of creating a student-run organization that does just that! Dr. Corey Scott advised that I bring a section of the Residence Hall Association to the campus and I did just that. I did a lot of extensive research over the summer and spearheaded that entire organization, and now it is the largest organization on RBC's campus,

       Hi, my name is Isaiah Lucas. I currently attend Richard Bland College and I am a campus tour guide, resident assistant and the President of the Residence Hall Association. I consider myself to be one of the most active students on campus. I am so active on campus and the reason behind my high involvement is the fact that I enjoy being a leader, planning fun activities and organizing things. Being active is so important to me. People will often describe me as a person who gets the job done. I am intrigued by meeting goals and will work hard to meet the goals that are given to me.

My major is political science and I plan on transferring to ODU or VCU in the fall of 2017.