Since my sophomore year, I have been a residential college aide for my residential college, Timothy Dwight (TD). While I had no idea what this job entailed before applying to the team on a whim, I knew that I wanted to be more involved in my residential college. Unsurprisingly, after three years as a TD aide, that wish was granted.
Once I became a residential college aide, I met and worked with so many amazing people in my college. Besides getting to know the other aides and TD staff, being a residential college aide also meant that I helped out at many residential college events. Thus, I also got to meet many other students within my college, from first-years during the first year of move-in, to seniors during Mellon Forums.
Of course, apart from meeting students in my college and getting to know the aide’s team, there are other perks of the job. For instance, as a college aide, I can keep up with the events that are happening within my residential college. Furthermore, I also get guaranteed spots in certain highly coveted events such as the Chubb Dinner (here is a blog post covering last year’s Chubb Dinner).
Some jobs that come with being a residential college aide besides working in certain events include working in residential college spaces. Residential college aides can work in the pottery studio, art studio, and even the college buttery as buttery managers. In Timothy Dwight College, we also have student aides for intramural sports. They play in intermurals, organize intramural games, and rally students to participate. So while paid athletes are not a thing at Yale, they kind of are (if you consider broomball a sport).
I was a webmaster for my residential college. This meant that I was in charge of updating the website for my residential college, updating the town hall monitor, and making sure that the online systems we use within the college were working properly. This year, I am now a chief aide. Even though the role comes with more responsibilities and a much larger time commitment, it has been very rewarding. From my weekly meetings with my head of college, working in the office shift, to the more mundane tasks of organizing shift schedules and coordinating training and check-ins, this job not only encourages me to be more organized and be a better leader, but it also allows me to give back to my residential college community.
After many years on the TD aides team, I felt it was my duty to discuss being a student aide on campus. While there may be other flashier on-campus jobs such as being a tour guide or being an undergraduate research assistant, I think being a student aide is one of the most rewarding jobs on campus. I love being able to see my work improve and foster community within my college and would recommend this job to any students interested in being more involved on campus.
