Resident Advisors/Assistants (RAs) play a crucial role in the development of community on college campuses. In addition to their organizational tasks, RAs help set the tone of college residences, provide listening and support services to students, lead group discussions, and serve as the cornerstone of the residence community. CMI trainers bring over 100 years of combined experience in training, consultation, and community building to advanced RA skill-building trainings. CMI training can dovetail with your current RA training program to provide a comprehensive and powerful learning experience.
About the Training:
Our highly experienced trainers can help your resident advisors form a supportive and caring team. Training consists of boundary-breaking, experiential activities that help participants learn about themselves and each other. We lead participants through a customized structured sequence of activities that promote the development of trust and safety within the group. CMI trainers carefully process each experience, providing continual opportunities for challenge and growth. Utilizing facilitated group discussions and unique activities, we help raise self-awareness of the participants and help them share thoughts and feelings regarding topics such as racial and ethnic bias, leadership, heterosexism, discrimination, and sexism. As the group begins to form a community, CMI trainers introduce the skill-building component of the training. We focus on helping RAs develop and practice active listening, helpful responding, conflict resolution, and group facilitation skills. These skills empower RAs to be caring, effective leaders of their communities. The CMI RA training program supports the overall efforts of the college to develop a safe, inclusive culture.
Program Goals:
The overall goal is to supplement new and existing resident advisor trainings with our advanced community- and skill-building training. We accomplish this by:
- Helping the resident advisors develop a supportive community among themselves.
- Providing extensive training in self-awareness and in peer listening and helping techniques, including active listening and group facilitation skills.
- Empowering the resident advisors to serve as catalysts for community building within their residence halls.
