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Kyle Livingston
Senior, Psychology
Resident adviser
Whether he’s at home, in class, or just out and about, Kyle Livingston knows he has to set a good example. “You’re always in the RA spotlight, whether you’re on campus or not,” he says. One of two resident advisers for the sixth floor of Gillson Hall, Livingston serves as friend, listening ear, and all-around USF expert to 52 freshmen. He also organizes five programs a semester for his residents; some are on required topics (personal safety, for example) and others are tailored to residents’ interests such as hiking trips.
That adds up to a lot of time. Sure, there’s the free room and board RAs receive, but Livingston calculated that it works out to be about $2 an hour given the amount of work involved. “You definitely don’t work just for the room and board,” he says. “You definitely have to like engaging residents, interacting with them and want to see them grow and you have to want to grow yourself.” Livingston enjoys watching his residents transform over the course of the year from “students with a high school mentality to a college mentality.”
Open Door Policy: Livingston welcomes his residents to stop by at any time. “I try to keep my door open as much as possible,” he says. He wants them to feel free to drop in, chat about their days, and discuss any issues they’re having. That personal interaction—whether in the hallways, cafeteria, or elsewhere on campus—is the crux of his job.
More Than an Authority Figure: Part of Livingston’s job involves writing incident reports for violation of dorm rules, but he hopes that doesn’t overshadow his other duties. “A lot of people see us as the authority figures and while that’s an important part of the job, it’s not the main reason,” he says. “We’re not here to get people in trouble. We’re here to make sure everyone has the opportunity to live and learn in a safe environment.” For Livingston, that has meant mediating roommate disputes and helping a student who had no idea how to register for classes successfully learn the online registration system: “That really made my day, more like made my week.”
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